Obesity linked to eye disease

According to a report in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (November), leptin, identified as the 'obesity hormone', is one of several molecules that act together to cause diabetic retinopathy. In a new study of 73 people with and without diabetes, those who had higher leptin levels in the eye were more likely to have the condition. 'Leptin's role in this process may help encourage other investigations into its action in the body outside of appetite, weight and obesity,' Dr Ray Gariano of Yale University School of Medicine told Reuters Health. Dr Gariano and his team found that the higher the level of leptin the more severe the eye disease. 'We know that abnormal blood vessel growth occurs in more advanced stages of diabetic eye disease, and our study supports this,' Dr Gariano said. He has speculated that leptin-based therapies could be useful for interrupting diabetic eye disease.