Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among American adults and the problem is expected to get much worse. Using projections from the U.S. census, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control estimate that from the years 2005 to 2050, the number of cases will increase from 5.5 million to 16 million. In Americans over the age of 65 alone diabetic retinopathy cases are expected to go from 2.5 million in 2005 to 9.9 million in 2050.