WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DIABETIC RETINOPATHY
Christiane Tourtet B.A.
February 01, 2008
People with diabetes may face, as complication of this disease, a group of eye problems that can cause quite severe vision loss, or even blindness. This eye disease, called diabetic eye disease, may include:
Diabetic retinopathy which is: damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
Glaucoma, which is: an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to damage to the optic nerve and loss of vision (people with diabetes are almost twice as likely to get glaucoma as other adults) and
Cataract, which is : a clouding of the lens of the eye. People with diabetes can develop cataracts at an early age.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina and is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in adults in the United States. At the beginning of diabetic retinopathy, you may not notice changes to your vision .However, over time, it can get worse and cause vision loss. Usually it affects both eyes.
Diabetic retinopathy has four stages: Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy, Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy, Severe Nonproliferative retinopathy, Proliferative Retinopathy. All people with diabetes, type 1 and type 2 are at risk, and should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely this person will get diabetic retinopathy. Between 40 to 45 percent of people in America diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy.Whether or not you have symptoms, early detection and treatment on time can prevent loss of vision. If you have diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye exam more frequently, and people with proliferative retinopathy, with timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care, can reduce their risk of blindness by 95 percent.
The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) has shown that better control of blood sugar levels slows the onset and progression of retinopathy, and also reduces the need for sight-saving laser surgery. People who kept their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible also had much less nerve and kidney disease. However, this level of blood sugar control , may not be the best for everyone, especially people with heart disease, children under 13, and some elderly patients, so be sure to ask your doctor, if such a blood control program is right for you.
Other studies have shown that controlling cholesterol and elevated blood pressure can reduce the risk of loss of vision. Controlling these, will help your health overall as well as help protect your vision. Quite often, there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, and no pain, but don't wait for symptoms to appear. Be sure to have a comprehensive dilated eye exam, at least once a year. Your eye care professional will check your retina for early signs of the disease, including any changes to the blood vessels, damaged nerve tissue, retinal swelling (macular edema) leaking blood vessels, fatty, pale deposits on the retina, which are signs of leaking blood vessels.
If you need treatment for macular edema, your eye care Professional, might suggest a fluorescein angiogram. Macular edema is treated with laser surgery. It is called focal laser treatment. The surgery is usually completed in one session, and can be performed in an eye clinic or in your doctor´s office. However further treatment may be needed to control leaking fluid. If you have macular edema in both eyes and laser surgery is required, usually, only one eye will be treated at a time, several weeks apart. Focal laser treatment stabilizes vision, and reduces the risk of loss of vision by 50 percent. In a small number of cases, if there is loss of vision, it can be improved.
Proliferative retinopathy is treated with laser surgery which is called scatter laser treatment. It helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels.A high number of laser burns are necessary and two or more sessions are usually required to complete treatment. Even though, you may notice some loss of your side vision, scatter laser treatment can save the rest of your sight. Scatter laser treatment may reduce slightly your night vision and color vision.
Laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, can reduce the risk of becoming blind by 90 percent, but often, cannot restore vision that has already been lost. If you have already lost some sight from diabetic retinopathy, you should ask your eye care professional about low vision devices and services. Research is being done by the National Eye Institute (NEI) in order to seek better ways to detect, prevent, and treat vision loss in people with diabetes. It is conducted through studies with patients and in the laboratory.
For instance, researchers are studying drugs that may stop the retina from sending signals to the body to grow blood vessels, and someday these drugs might be able to help people control their diabetic retinopathy and even reduce the need for laser surgery.
Reference:
The National Eye Institute (NEI).
© 2008 Christiane Tourtet, all rights reserved.
Diabetic retinopathy which is: damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
Glaucoma, which is: an increase in fluid pressure inside the eye that leads to damage to the optic nerve and loss of vision (people with diabetes are almost twice as likely to get glaucoma as other adults) and
Cataract, which is : a clouding of the lens of the eye. People with diabetes can develop cataracts at an early age.
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina and is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in adults in the United States. At the beginning of diabetic retinopathy, you may not notice changes to your vision .However, over time, it can get worse and cause vision loss. Usually it affects both eyes.
Diabetic retinopathy has four stages: Mild Nonproliferative Retinopathy, Moderate Nonproliferative Retinopathy, Severe Nonproliferative retinopathy, Proliferative Retinopathy. All people with diabetes, type 1 and type 2 are at risk, and should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. The longer a person has diabetes, the more likely this person will get diabetic retinopathy. Between 40 to 45 percent of people in America diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy.Whether or not you have symptoms, early detection and treatment on time can prevent loss of vision. If you have diabetic retinopathy, you may need an eye exam more frequently, and people with proliferative retinopathy, with timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care, can reduce their risk of blindness by 95 percent.
The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) has shown that better control of blood sugar levels slows the onset and progression of retinopathy, and also reduces the need for sight-saving laser surgery. People who kept their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible also had much less nerve and kidney disease. However, this level of blood sugar control , may not be the best for everyone, especially people with heart disease, children under 13, and some elderly patients, so be sure to ask your doctor, if such a blood control program is right for you.
Other studies have shown that controlling cholesterol and elevated blood pressure can reduce the risk of loss of vision. Controlling these, will help your health overall as well as help protect your vision. Quite often, there are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, and no pain, but don't wait for symptoms to appear. Be sure to have a comprehensive dilated eye exam, at least once a year. Your eye care professional will check your retina for early signs of the disease, including any changes to the blood vessels, damaged nerve tissue, retinal swelling (macular edema) leaking blood vessels, fatty, pale deposits on the retina, which are signs of leaking blood vessels.
If you need treatment for macular edema, your eye care Professional, might suggest a fluorescein angiogram. Macular edema is treated with laser surgery. It is called focal laser treatment. The surgery is usually completed in one session, and can be performed in an eye clinic or in your doctor´s office. However further treatment may be needed to control leaking fluid. If you have macular edema in both eyes and laser surgery is required, usually, only one eye will be treated at a time, several weeks apart. Focal laser treatment stabilizes vision, and reduces the risk of loss of vision by 50 percent. In a small number of cases, if there is loss of vision, it can be improved.
Proliferative retinopathy is treated with laser surgery which is called scatter laser treatment. It helps to shrink the abnormal blood vessels.A high number of laser burns are necessary and two or more sessions are usually required to complete treatment. Even though, you may notice some loss of your side vision, scatter laser treatment can save the rest of your sight. Scatter laser treatment may reduce slightly your night vision and color vision.
Laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, can reduce the risk of becoming blind by 90 percent, but often, cannot restore vision that has already been lost. If you have already lost some sight from diabetic retinopathy, you should ask your eye care professional about low vision devices and services. Research is being done by the National Eye Institute (NEI) in order to seek better ways to detect, prevent, and treat vision loss in people with diabetes. It is conducted through studies with patients and in the laboratory.
For instance, researchers are studying drugs that may stop the retina from sending signals to the body to grow blood vessels, and someday these drugs might be able to help people control their diabetic retinopathy and even reduce the need for laser surgery.
Reference:
The National Eye Institute (NEI).
© 2008 Christiane Tourtet, all rights reserved.