1. What exactly is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is a condition in which high blood sugar causes
retinal blood vessels
to swell and leak blood.
2. Who's at the most risk for diabetic retinopathy?
Fluctuating blood sugar levels lead to an increased risk of this disease, as
does long-term diabetes. Most people don't develop diabetic retinopathy
until they've had diabetes for at least 10 years.
3. Is there any way to prevent diabetic retinopathy?
Keeping your blood sugar at an even level can help prevent diabetic retinopathy.
If you have high blood pressure, keeping that under control is helpful as well. Even
controlled diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, so you should have
your eyes examined once a year; that way, your doctor can begin treating any
retinal damage as soon as possible.
4. What are the signs and symptoms of diabetic retinopathy?
In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, you might have no symptoms at all,
or you might have blurred vision. In the later stages, you develop cloudy vision,
blind spots or floaters.
5. What are the different types of diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic retinopathy is classified as either nonproliferative (background) or
proliferative. Nonproliferative retinopathy is the early stage, where
small retinal blood vessels break and leak.
In proliferative retinopathy, new blood vessels grow abnormally within
the retina. This new growth can cause scarring or
retinal detachment,
which can lead to vision loss. The new blood vessels may also grow or bleed
into the vitreous humor, the transparent gel filling the eyeball in front of the retina.
Proliferative retinopathy is much more serious than the nonproliferative form
and can lead to total blindness.
6. Is diabetic retinopathy curable?
No. Early treatment can slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but is not
likely to reverse any vision loss.
7. What diabetic retinopathy treatments are currently available?
The best treatment is to keep your diabetes under control;
blood pressure control is also helpful. Your doctor may decide on
laser photocoagulation to
seal leaking blood vessels and destroy new blood vessel growth. If blood
gets into the vitreous humor, your doctor might want to perform a procedure
called a vitrectomy.
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