Brendan Yagmoor is grateful for the opportunity to participate in research for diabetic macular oedema. 

After being warned about his blood sugar in 2010, he successfully controlled his weight for a decade, but in 2021 he was diagnosed with diabetic macular oedema. 

Diabetic macular oedema occurs when blood vessels in the macula leak fluid which causes swelling. It makes central vision blurry or wavy making it difficult to read, drive and recognise faces. 

After receiving treatment at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, he was offered the chance to participate in a clinical trial at Cerulea Clinical Trials. 

Brendan says the experience of participating in research has been very rewarding. 

“I’m not sure how long I’ll live – hopefully another 20 years at least – but I want my eyesight to be as good as I possibly can,’’ he says. 

“All this research is happening before significant damage is being done to my eye. 

“I’m not sure how significant my results will be, but I’m sure they’ll impact in some small way.”

This story was originally published in Share our vision: Annual Review 2024.