Ruboxistaurin – A Promising Drug for Diabetic Retinopathy
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication leading to visual disability. Laser photocoagulation and surgical procedures remains the mainstay of treatment in diabetic retinopathy. Presently there is no approved medical therapy available to delay the development or cure diabetic retinopathy. Ruboxistaurin, a Protein Kinase C-beta (PKC beta) inhibitor, is being developed as an effective treatment to prevent visual loss associated with diabetic retinopathy. Ruboxistaurin is an acyclic derivative of staurosporine belonging to a new class of N- (azacycloalkyl) bisindolylmaleimides. By inhibiting PKC beta, Ruboxistaurin prevents endothelial dysfunction in the retinal vessels in experimental models and displays antiangiogenic property by preventing intraocular neovascularization. In clinical trials, Ruboxistaurin showed no significant effects on the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but delayed the onset of visual loss, improved retinal circulation time and reduced the risk of visual loss. It has also been shown to be effective in patients with severe macular edema as it reduces the retinal leakage. In trials, the drug was well tolerated. Ruboxistaurin is under evaluation by FDA and once approved, would emerge as a promising therapeutic approach for treating diabetic retinopathy by preventing visual loss.
When publishing with Kerala Medicial Journal (KMJ), authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Work includes the material submitted for publication and any other related material submitted to KMJ. In the event that KMJ does not publish said work, the author(s) will be so notified and all rights assigned hereunder will revert to the author(s).
The assignment of rights to KMJ includes but is not expressly limited to rights to edit, publish, reproduce, distribute copies, include in indexes or search databases in print, electronic, or other media, whether or not in use at the time of execution of this agreement.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
The author(s) hereby represents and warrants that they are sole author(s) of the work, that all authors have participated in and agree with the content and conclusions of the work, that the work is original, and does not infringe upon any copyright, propriety, or personal right of any third party, and that no part of it nor any work based on substantially similar data has been submitted to another publication.
