Diabetes Retinopathy Threatens Blindness

Diabetes is a condition where the body does not produce enough insulin to convert sugar into energy, causing a buildup of sugar in the blood. This results in a number of problems, including diabetic retinopathy, which is one of the main causes of new blindness in adults in Indonesia.

What is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetic retinal disease is a disorder of the blood vessels in the retina in patients with diabetes mellitus. This is the main cause of new blindness in adults in developing countries, including Indonesia.

Are all diabetics at risk of diabetic retinopathy? 
The risk of diabetic retinopathy increases with the duration of diabetes. About 60–80% of patients with diabetes for 15 years or more experience damage to the blood vessels in their eyes. Some of these patients are at risk of blindness. Especially for diabetes sufferers with uncontrolled blood sugar.

How does diabetic retinopathy appear? 
In the early stages, high blood sugar can damage the thin blood vessels of the retina; initially, small blood spots will appear with a collection of inflammation on the retina.
Then it will develop into proliferative retinopathy, which develops from small bleeding spots into eyeball hemorrhages, which are the cause of most blindness in diabetics.
In this condition, new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina and optic nerve. These new blood vessels tend to burst, and blood flows into the eye socket. Wounded tissue from broken blood vessels can also contract and pull on the retina, causing retinal detachment and blindness. In some cases, new blood vessels can also grow in the iris of the eye and cause glaucoma to form, which can also result in blindness.

How do I know if I have diabetic retinopathy?
Your vision may blur gradually, which you often don't notice. In some patients, leaking blood vessels flow into the macula of the eye, the part of the retina responsible for central vision, causing vision loss.
An eye doctor may recommend a funduscopy examination procedure followed by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) to help early detect the effects of diabetic retinopathy.
In proliferative retinopathy, patients may experience cloudy vision or blindness when bleeding occurs. Although there may be no pain at all, this severe form of diabetic retinopathy requires immediate medical attention.

What can be done to prevent diabetic retinopathy?
In diabetic sufferers, it is best to control blood sugar levels and blood pressure to reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Unfortunately, even if blood sugar levels are well controlled, the risk of diabetic retinopathy is not completely eliminated.

What types of treatment are available for Diabetic Retinopathy?
Laser treatment is used to close abnormal blood vessel leaks. Small beams of laser energy can close leaking blood vessels and form small scars inside the eye. This laser scar reduces the growth of new blood vessels and causes existing young blood vessels to constrict and close.
However, laser treatment cannot be used on every patient. A procedure called vitrectomy, along with other surgical procedures, is required for complex cases where there is vitreous bleeding into the eye and scar tissue formation. Early detection through eye examination and appropriate treatment is the key to successful treatment.
 

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Reference:

https://www.docdoc.com/id/info/condition/diabetic-retinopathy accessed in 2015, What is Diabetic Retinopathy: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment?

https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/eyes-and-vision/diabetic-retinopathy.html accessed 2015, Diabetic Retinopathy
National Eye Institute: "Dietetic Retinopathy." van Hecke, MV. Diabetes Care 2005; 28:1383. Lecaire, T. Am J Epidemiol 2006; 164:143. Aiello, L. N Engl J Med 2005; 353:839.

National Eye Institute: "Dietetic Retinopathy." van Hecke, MV. Diabetes Care 2005; 28:1383. Lecaire, T. Am J Epidemiol 2006; 164:143. Aiello, L. N Engl J Med 2005; 353:839.