Silicon Valley 'Tour de Cure' Cycling Fundraiser Is Sunday

Tour de Cure, the American Diabetes Association's signature fundraising cycling event, will hold its Silicon Valley ride Sunday -- June 8 -- starting at Hewlett-Packard, 3000 Hanover St. in Palo Alto. 

The registration fee is $35 with a fundraising minimum of $225. Route distances: 25k, 50k, 75k, 100k, 120k

To join the event: Click here!

Participating in this year's ride is CenterVue, Inc., a leader in the development of devices for the diagnosis and management of ocular pathologies and vision disorders.

CenterVue's Chief Executive Officer, Cliff Wright, a licensed optometrist, will offer free retinal screenings to Tour de Cure participants, using the company's DRS fundus camera. 

Diabetes affects 25.8 million people, or 8.3 percent of the population, in the United States, and an estimated 79 million American adults aged 20 years or older have prediabetes.

Diabetes can cause many complications, including heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and neuropathy -- and can also severely impact eyesight with several disorders, including diabetic retinopathy. 

Eye damage occurs when chronically high amounts of blood sugar begin to clog or damage blood vessels within the eye's retina, which contains light-sensitive cells necessary for good vision. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults in the United States.

All racers and participants in the Silicon Valley Tour de Cure will have the opportunity to have their eyes screened, according to the company. 

CenterVue's DRS camera is the new frontier in retinal imaging, requires no pharmacological dilation of the eyes, is fully automated, and captures high quality images of both eyes in less than one minute. 

Dr. Wright states: "Screening for diabetic retinopathy is important because most patients who develop it have no symptoms until the late stages of retinopathy, by which time treatment may be ineffective. Many cases of blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy could be prevented with regular eye examinations and treatment."