Sunday, December 9, 2007

4.3 Diabetic retina

Diabetes is a nasty disease of ischemia. There is no cure for it just yet. It comes in two forms, the familiar Type 1 and Type 2. There used to be an aging factor for Type 2 (i.e., adult-onset), now even children develop Type 2 diabetes. Long-term diabetes leads to many complications in the eye including diabetic retinopathy, cataracts (posted previously, see Section 2.2.3), and sometimes, neovascular glaucoma.

Let us ponder this wide-field retinal image first:

In the center, there is an island. Which is surrounded by a sea of bright spots. In the middle of the island, you can see the macula, to its left is the optic disc, and to its right, a suspiciously looking dark-red area. Also within each bright spot, there are black specks. Yes, this is a diabetic retina after a pan-retinal laser photo-coagulation (PLP) treatment. The bright spots are laser burns and within each spot, pigments from pigment epithelium. The purpose is to stop bleeding as that in the dark-red area. Usually there are 1,000 burns.

Why is this treatment necessary? Well, we need to backtrack a little. Because of the structural changes of the blood vessels in a diabetic retina (in the whole body, in fact), we can see micro-aneurysms (often known as background or non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy). Then three things happen: (1) the delivery of oxygen is inadequate; (2) the blood vessels sometimes leak; and (3) the macula may become edematous. These get progressively worse as time goes on. Eventually, the ischemia gets so bad, new blood vessels proliferate to provide more oxygen. So now we have the proliferative diabetic retinopathy. These abnormal vessels often break and blood will leak into the vitreous necessitating a vitrectomy (surgical removal of the vitreous). PLP is therefore performed to stop these hemorrhages. The image above may look terrible, yet the patient still retains central vision, even though peripheral vision is somewhat compromised. This is still far better than a total vision loss.

To avoid or delay these complications, tight blood sugar control is absolutely crucial. So if you are a diabetic, do yourself a big favor: Follow your diabetes doctor's instructions religiously. And pay attention to your Hb A1c level and monitor your own blood glucose closely.

3 comments:

Rana Hospital said...

Eye care is the important care for human body, because if your eyes is healthy you can see and understand things. So always get your eyes tested and checked by reputed and renowned eye doctor in Ludhiana.

Bhuman said...

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that will cause vision loss and blindness in people that have diabetes. It affects blood vessels within the retina. If you've got diabetes, you would like to urge a comprehensive dilated eye exam a minimum of once a year. Diabetic retinopathy might not have any symptoms initially — but finding it earlier can assist you in taking steps to guard your vision. Managing your diabetes — by staying physically active, eating healthy, and taking your medicine — also can prevent vision loss.

Dr. Sahil Jain, consultant, a vitreoretinal surgeon at Laser clinic, has shared his words on the care of diabetic retinopathy. The first stages of diabetic retinopathy usually don't have any symptoms. Some people notice changes in their vision while reading or writing. These changes may come and go. In later stages of this problem, blood vessels within the retina start to bleed into the vitreous (gel-like fluid within the center of the eye). If this happens, you'll see dark, floating spots or streaks that appear as if cobwebs. Sometimes, the areas clear abreast of their own — but it's essential to urge treatment directly. Without treatment, the bleeding can happen again, get worse, or cause scarring.

Learn More- Diabetic Retinopathy: How Diabetes affects your eyes?

Tosee2020 Optometrist said...

Thanks for sharing this. In my opinion I think diabetic retinopathy is such a dangerous disease of an eye. Eye is the most sensitive part of the human body and we need to get proper treatment if someone is suffering from that kind of issue. I knew it because I’m a optometrist glen Ellyn as profession and try my best to overcome my client issue.