Diabetic retinopathy

[Raeanne Dimick]

Diabetic retinopathy is damage to the retina (the transparent, light-sensitive structure at the back of the eye) as a result of diabetes.

Blood vessels in the retina can leak blood and fluid.
New blood vessels may develop, sometimes leading to bleeding, scar formation, or retinal detachment.
The diagnosis is based on an eye examination after the pupil is dilated with eye drops.
Controlling blood sugar and blood pressure is important for people who have diabetic retinopathy or who are at risk of developing it.
Laser treatments and injections into the eye can usually decrease leakage of blood and fluid from blood vessels, thus preventing or delaying further damage.

Diabetes mellitus is among the leading causes of blindness in the United States and other developed countries, particularly among working-age adults. After several years, some retinal change occurs in almost all people with diabetes, regardless of whether they use insulin therapy. People with diabetes who also have high blood pressure are at much higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy because both conditions tend to damage the retina. Pregnancy can cause diabetic retinopathy to worsen.
Repeated exposure to high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood make the walls of small blood vessels, including those in the retina, weaker and, therefore, more prone to damage. Damaged retinal blood vessels leak blood and fluid into the retina.
The extent of retinopathy and vision loss is related mostly to the following:

How well blood sugar levels are controlled
How well blood pressure is controlled
How long the person has had diabetes

In general, retinopathy appears 5 years after people develop type 1 diabetes. Because diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may not occur for years, retinopathy may be present by the time people receive the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.