Diabetic Retinopathy Paper

Macular Degeneration is a disease of the eye that gradually causes loss of a person’s central vision. Approximately 1.75 million Americans suffer from vision loss associated with the disease (All About Vision 1). The leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 60, Macular Degeneration, exists in two types (National Eye Institute 1). Both the wet and dry versions of the disease have similarities in risk factors, but differ in symptoms and treatments.

Glaucoma is a common and important health problem. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in Western Society (Hoskins & Kass, 1989). It is responsible for ten percent of all blindness in the United States and continues to be the second or third most common cause of blindness in the world (Bunce, Fraser, & Wormald, 1999). It is estimated that two million people in the United States have been diagnosed as having glaucoma. Glaucoma is known to affect about two percent of Caucasians beginning at the age of 40 with an increasing risk for those over the age of 60. This risk is especially high if a member of the family has glaucoma or diabetes. Further, there is a higher risk of a glaucoma diagnosis for African Americans

Usually, a person would start off having dry macular degeneration and it would eventually turn into the wet macular degeneration. The "wet" macular degeneration is actually a condition called choroidal neovascularization. Choroidal neovascularization occurs when new blood vessels grow in the choroid layer behind the retina causing scar tissue and the retinal cells to

Uncontrolled blood glucose levels damage retinal blood vessels, impacting the light-sensitive tissue that allows people to see fine details. The small vessel disease will develop in more than half of all people who have either form of diabetes, and it is the most prevalent cause of irreversible blindness among working-age Americans, according to the American Society of Retina Specialist. Symptoms may

The most well known T2DM microvascular complications are diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common microvascular complication, is responsible for over 10,000 new cases of blindness in the United States each year [102] and is projected to affect >60% of T2DM patients by the first decade of disease [103]. DR is classified into 2 main stages: nonproliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR). NPDR is further classified into mild, moderate, or severe stages with the earliest signs of NPDR including decreased pericyte coverage of the retinal capillaries [104] due to pericyte loss and microaneurysms (swelling of the retinal blood vessels) [105]. Pericytes

Patients with age-related macular degeneration may not notice any symptoms at first. The first noticeable sign is a gradual, or sudden, change in the quality of vision depending on which type of AMD is occurring. Straight lines will start to appear distorted (Kozarsky, 2017). Early dry AMD is diagnosed by the presence of drusen. This gradually can cause a dramatic loss of the center of vision. In the intermediate stage of AMD, the beginnings of vision loss are apparent, but there still may not be any other noticeable symptoms. At this time, optometrists will test for larger drusen and pigment changes in the retina (“Research into the Genetics of Macular Degeneration,” 2017). Other symptoms of age-related macular degeneration might include an

These changes typically affect small blood vessels in the eye and compromise the blood-retinal barrier. When viewing the retina with the use of an ophthalmoscope or via retinal imaging, haemorrhages appearing as small red spots can be seen which are leaks in the blood vessels. Overtime these tiny leaks within the affected blood vessels create inflammation within the retina. As a result of these inflammatory processes, the retina releases angiogenic factors. Angiogenic factors include the production of new blood vessels within the eye. These new blood vessels don’t have tight junctions and are therefore extremely leaky. If diabetic retinopathy is not treated it can result in severe scarring on the retina which evidently gives reduction in

The reason people with diabetes often have eye problems is because high blood sugar levels can damage the blood vessels in the retina—this is the main cause of diabetic retinopathy. Since many diabetics have high

Diabetic retinopathy involves changes to retinal blood vessels that can cause them to bleed or leak fluid, distorting vision.

Do you know what the leading cause of blindness is in Americans from ages 20 to 74? It is diabetes an illness that changes the way the body breaks down and absorbs sugars. These changes, doctors feel, take away oxygen that the retina needs. (The retina is the back layer of the eye and it is where sharp images are formed.) When this happens’ some small blood vessels may become weak and break, vision problems occur when this blood leaks into the areas around the retina. Diabetes can also cause glaucoma and cataracts. Glaucoma is a disease that causes a lot of pressure in the eye because too much fluid builds up. Cataracts, on the other hand, cloud the lens of the eye and this makes a person feel like he or she is looking through a grimy window.

Signs/Symptoms: The way a person would know if they have Glaucoma, an eye disease that can make someone go blind, is by looking for the signs or symptoms. Symptoms of Open Angle Glaucoma are patchy blindness spots in the peripheral or central vision and “tunnel” vision in both eyes. The symptoms for Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma are, as said by Glaucoma - Symptoms and Causes by The Mayo Clinic “eye pain, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, “halos” around lights - which may be rainbow,” red eyes, and sudden sight loss. The symptoms of this kind of Glaucoma have no typical early warning signs. This is the reason people don’t notice it until it is too late, and they end up losing their vision if it is not treated.

When you have CRVO, a blood clot forms inside your central retinal vein. This can happen suddenly or gradually. The clot causes blood and fluid to leak out of the central retinal vein. The blood and fluid collect in the central area of your retina (macula). This causes vision loss or blurred vision in the affected eye. The blurriness or loss of vision may be complete or partial. Partial loss may get worse over hours or days.

Diabetic Retinopathy, or damage to the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to blindness

A healthy eye produces a small amount of fluid inside the front portion of the eye equal to the amount of the fluid that flows out of the eye to maintain a stable eye pressure.If a patient has Glaucoma, the fluid does not flow out of his/her eye properly.Therefore, the fluid pressure builds up causing vision to fade away slowly.

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of adult vision loss world-wide that offers a significant diagnostic challenge. The prevalence of DR increases with duration of diabetes [31]. DR is difficult to prevent and treat. Biochemical mechanisms, such as hyperglycemia, are proposed as possible pathogenic factors in DR, while retinal vasodilation and retinal hyperperfusion, related to hypoxia and the release of nitric oxide, may be key initiating factors in early DR developments [32-35]. Hyperperfusion, is associated with impaired vascular autoregulation, which may lead to increased epithelial wall tension and permeability, and subsequent leakage and microaneurysm development [36]. Disturbances are detected in many aspects of ocular circulation