To the Editor. —Diabetes predominantly affects the microvascular system of the eye, and during the early stages of the disease, even in the absence of ophthalmoscopic signs of retinopathy, a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) may be observed. 1,2 This has been shown by vitreous fluorophotometry, which has proved to be a useful clinical method to test the effects of drugs on the BRB. Bendazac lysine has been reported to be effective in inhibiting protein denaturation, 3 thereby reducing the necrotic, inflammatory, and degenerative response of tissues in selected instances. For this reason it was thought that it might be protective in diabetes. We have measured the effect of bendazac lysine in insulin-dependent diabetic patients who showed mild background retinopathy and breakdown of the BRB. We examined 12 consecutive consenting adult patients affected by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus who exhibited abnormal leakage of fluorescein into the vitreous gel in both
