Adequate control of diabetes and eye reviews delayed the appearance of diabetic retinopathy.

According to the Department of retinta of IMO, diabetic retinopathy is one of the main causes of severe loss of vision in the Western world. Only in Catalonia, it is estimated that around 2% of the diabetic population presents degrees of retinopathy advanced legal blindness or total vision loss. Although patients with diabetes have up to 25 times more likely to total loss of vision that persons who do not have the disease, visual damage resulting from diabetes does not have why to become serious. This will depend on the degree of severity of diabetes, the time elapsed since the beginning of the disease and the level of control by the patient. Diagnosis and early treatment are therefore basic, according to experts.

The main preventive measures of diabetic patients to avoid or delay the onset of diabetic retinopathy are tight control of glucose in the blood, of blood pressure and cholesterol and avoiding tobacco. Also essential thorough ophthalmologic monitoring, as usually, diabetic retinopathy does not cause symptoms until the injury is severe.

The ophthalmic review in type 1 diabetics should be at the 3-5 years of diagnosis, while type 2 diabetics should begin Baviera revisions from the moment in which the disease is diagnosed. After this first test, all patients should undergo an ophthalmological annual review should not notice any injury, especially groups of pregnant women and people with a poor metabolic control of diabetes. An ophthalmologist will propose revisions to control based on the loss of vision of each patient. In any case, it is desirable to diagnose retinopathy rather than appear symptoms.

diabetic retinopathy

diabetic retinopathy occurs because the walls of the retinal vessels are altered and become more permeable as a result of high levels of blood glucose. These vessels are no longer relevant and allow the passage of fluid into the extracellular space. Diabetic retinopathy begins to manifest itself with small lesions (like capillary dilatations or micro aneurysms) and loss of fluid in the retina. This causes a ponding in the retina and whether it extends to the macula, may cause edema macular (one of the main causes of decreased visual acuity in diabetic patients).

In more advanced cases, there is what is known as proliferating diabetic retinopathy ”, the most serious retinal table related to diabetes, which affects 20% of people with diabetes and can lead to a severe loss of vision. Called proliferating because it is produced by the proliferation of new blood vessels. These stem haemorrhage in vitreous space, a gelatinous and transparent fabric, that fills the eyeball. To bleed the vessels of the retina, the vitreous becomes opaque and causes decreased vision, generally occurring sharply. Current treatments – photocoagulation lasers, intravítreas injection or vitrectomy – manage to stop the progression of the disease and can improve visual prognosis of the patient. Other Visual complications associated with diabetes are edema and macular, the retinal detachment, glaucoma or cataracts.

Two of the specialists in retina of IMO, Dr. Borja Corcóstegui and Dr. Carlos Mateo, offer some clues to diabetic retinopathy on the following links:

the importance of early diagnosis (Dr Borja Corcóstegui)

metabolic decompensation of the diabetic is a “cheque” paid to long term (Dr. Carlos Mateo)