Diabetes and Endocrinology

Diabetic retinopathy, which is also known as diabetic eye disease, is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is a most important cause of blindness. Diabetic retinopathy affects up to 80% of those who have had diabetes for more than 20 years. At least 90% of the new cases could be reduced with the proper treatment and monitoring of the eyes. The retina is the membrane which covers the black of the eye and is highly sensitive to light. It can convert any light that hits the eye into signals which can be interpreted by the brain. This process produces visual images and this is how sight functions in the human eye. Diabetic retinopathy damages the blood vessels in the retinal tissue, causing them to leak fluid and distort vision.

Damage to the small blood vessels and neurons of the retina causes Diabetic retinopathy. The earliest changes leading to diabetic retinopathy include narrowing of the retinal arteries associated with decreased retinal blood flow; dysfunction of the neurons of the inner retina, followed in later stages by changes in the function of the outer retina, associated with subtle changes in visual function; dysfunction of the blood-retinal barrier, which protects the retina from many substances in the blood leading to the leaking of blood constituents into the retinal neuropile.