Friday, March 29, 2013

Diabetic Retinopathy; Meaning, Manifestation And Treatments

By Jarvis Cameron


Diabetic retinopathy is a condition wherein the smaller blood vessels in the eye's retina are damaged mainly because of diabetic complications. The retina is actually responsible for receiving in addition to transmitting images from the lens to the brain from the optic nerve in addition to forms the back part of the eyeball. In the U.S.A diabetic retinopathy is said to be the leading reason for loss of sight within adults with both types of diabetes and is actually caused by changes within the retina's blood vessels.

In past statistics, 8 out of 10 individuals who have had diabetic issues for a period exceeding ten years suffer from this condition. This agrees with the linkage between diabetes and this dreadful eye defect, where susceptibility to the illness increases along with the time period that a person has lived along with diabetes. However, study has proven that the problem can be decreased to as little as 10% with standard eye check-ups along with correct treatment.

Diabetic retinopathy doesn't strike at one time. It evolves within stages unobtrusively. Within the initial stage, the mild non-proliferative retinopathy, areas of balloon-like swellings known as micro aneurysms pattern the retina's smaller blood vessels. As the situation progresses to the moderate non-proliferative retinopathy, some blood vessels are blocked, meaning that the retina may lack nutrients.

Within the severe non-proliferative retinopathy, many more blood vessels are usually blocked and far more regions of the retina are right now suffering from lack of sufficient blood supply. Because of this lack, the deprived regions of the retina stimulate the body to synthesize brand new blood vessels to recover the shortage. With time, the problem further deteriorates to the advanced stage called proliferative retinopathy. Within this stage, brand new blood vessels grow in a strange way and the ensuing vessels tend to be delicate. Their strange growth covers regions along the retina along with the clear thick liquid which fills the inner mass of the eyeball.

Before the final stage, it is not easy for anyone to detect just about any defect in their eyes, right up until the weakened walls of the brand new blood vessels break, leaking fluids and blood. This leaked blood results in a loss of vision or even blindness. Considering the fact that diabetic retinopathy exhibits simply no signs or symptoms in the early on stages of advancement and does not cause any pain either, eye check-ups are usually recommended for almost all diabetes patients no less than once a year.

Nevertheless, there may be bleeding in addition to loss of fluids within the retina as a result of haemorrhage and this might end up being the only alarm for the patient. Nevertheless, one should seek medical assistance as soon as just about any of the signs are discovered, whether or not by eye checks as well as by the individual. Various medical procedures and also surgeries employed to address diabetic retinopathy include laser eye surgery, vitrectomy and the use of drugs.




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