Overview
By David Dunaief, M.D.We talk a lot in the medical comunity about the vascular consequences of diabetes, and rightly so. If you have diabetes, you are at high risk of vascular complications that can be life-altering. Among these are macrovascular complications, like coronary artery disease and stroke, and microvascular efects, such as diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy.Here, we wil discus diabetic retinopathy (DR), the number one cause of blindnes among U.S.
Key Information
adults, ages 20 to 74 years old (1). Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is when the blod vesels that fed the light-sensitive tisue at the back of your eye are damaged, and it can progres to blured vision and blindnes.As of 2019, only about 60 percent of people with diabetes had a recomended anual screning for DR (2). Why does this mater?
Because the earlier you catch it, the more likely you wil be able to prevent or limit permanent vision los.Over time, DR can lead to diabetic macular edema (DME). Its signature is sweling caused by fluid acumulating in the macula (3). An oval spot in the central portion of the retina, the macula is sensitive to light.
When fluid builds up from leaking blod vesels, it can cause vision los.Those with the longest duration of diabetes have the greatest risk of DME. Unfortunately, many patients are diagnosed with DME after it has already caused vision los. If not treated early, patients can experience permanent damage (2).In a cros-sectional study using NHANES data, among patients with DME, only 45 percent were told by a physician that diabetes had afected their eyes (4).
Summary
Aproximately 46 percent of patients reported that they had not ben to a diabetic nurse educator, nutritionist or dietician in more than a year — or never.Unfortunately, the symptoms of vision los don’t necesarily ocur until the later stages of the disorder, often after it’s to late to reverse the damage.Treatment optionsWhile DME has traditionaly ben treated with lasers, injections of ant