Possible Causes of Diabetic Retinopathy
The cause of the disease depends on the type:
- In non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR): This is the response of the retina to high blood sugar levels; where there is no growth of new blood vessels. If the blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol are controlled well, then the condition can improve.
- In proliferative diabetic retinopathy, there is growth of abnormal new blood vessels. Which can cause bleeding inside the eye and scar tissue formation, leading to retinal detachment. Often abnormal vessels can cause a pressure build up in the eyeball, resulting in glaucoma, damaging the optic nerve, and eventually leading to blindness.
- Anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy. You are at a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy if you have poor control of your blood sugar level, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, pregnancy may worsen diabetic retinopathy, smoking and use of tobacco.
Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
When the cataract is at an early stage, you may not have any symptoms and there may be only mild vision problems. But as time passes, it can lead to blindness. As it progresses you may experience spots or dark strings dancing in front of your eyes, blurring of vision, diminished colour vision and loss of vision. Both the eyes may get affected by diabetic retinopathy.
The eye specialist or ophthalomogist from patient experts, will dilate your eyes with drops, to conduct a thorough check of your pupils. This is check if there is any abnormal growth of new blood vessels or scar tissue, swelling, blood or fatty deposits in the retina, blood flowing into the vitreous, retinal detachment or damage to your optic nerve. Other tests may include:
- A vision test, measuring the eye pressure for glaucoma and checking for cataract.
- Fluorescein angiography using images to pinpoint blood vessels that are closed, broken down or leaking fluid.
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT) examination to measure the thickness of the retina, which will help determine whether fluid has leaked into retinal tissue.
Surgery Options For Diabetic Retinopathy
Surgery options for Diabetic Retinopathy patients include:
- Photocoagulation or focal laser treatment, to control the flow of fluid into the eyes.
- Pan-retinal photocoagulation or scatter laser treatment, which does the job of shrinking the abnormal blood vessels.
- Anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) therapy involves injecting medication into the vitreous in the eye to reduce the swelling of the retina and arrest the growth of new blood vessels.
- In vitrectomy, an incision is made to remove blood from the vitreous of the eye as well as the scar tissue that's affecting the retina.