Diabetic retinopathy

From Wikivision

Introduction

More than 20 million people in the US have some type of diabetes and nearly 45% of those people have an eye disease that can cause blindness if not detected in time. Of the different diabetic eye diseases, Diabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss. Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by a change in the tiny blood vessels in the retina, the light receptive layer in the back of the eye, which either results in the leaking of fluid or an abnormal growth of blood vessels. This causes a series of symptoms such as macular edema, and blurriness. Because this disease progresses silently, it is important to get an eye exam annually. In a cross cultural study it was found that African Americans and Hispanics have a higher prevalence for having diabetic retinopathy than their Asian and Caucasian counterparts. Although, race is a significant indicator, there are several other indicators such as duration of diabetes, levels of blood glucose, waist to hip ratio, and use of oral insulin medication. [[1]]

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Causes and Risk Factors

Symptoms and the Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy

Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy

Treatments

Some References