know About Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the common diseases that affect retina. This condition leads to vision loss and mainly affects people suffering from diabetes mellitus. It can be prevented by diagnosis at the early stage and treatment. It is very important to know of the stages associated with this condition to identify the symptoms that fit in the category. It is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of fifty.

There are four stages associated with this disease. They are:

• Mild Non-Proliferative
• Moderate Non-Proliferative
• Severe Non-Proliferative
• Proliferative

Mild Non-Proliferative:

This is the first and earliest stage of diabetic retinopathy. Some may show symptoms and some may not show any symptoms during this stage. Some symptoms are presence of dot hemorrhage and blot in the retina. It is also characterized by microaneurysms. Microaneursyms are balloon like swelling on the blood vessels present in retina. The condition must be monitored on a regular basis to stop it from reaching next level. Treatment is not required until the condition worsens and reaches the next stage or when it is accompanied by diabetic macular edema (DME).

Moderate Non-Proliferative:

This is the second stage of diabetic retinopathy. In this stage, the blood vessels present on retina may get blocked. This in turn, blocks the supply of oxygen and other nutrients required for effective functioning of retina. Fluorescein angiogram is done to detect the blocked vessels. At first, drops are put on the eyes to dilate pupils. Then sodium fluorescein is injected into the arm vein and left for some time. The dye (sodium fluorescein) travels to the retinal blood vessels. With the help of a special camera, photographs of the retina are taken. This is how blood circulation in the blood vessels is seen to find out any blocked blood vessels.

Severe Non-Proliferative:

This is the third stage associated with diabetic retinopathy. Like the second stage, this stage also has blocked blood vessels in retina. Oxygen and other nutrients do not reach retina and in turn a new condition is developed, known as retinal ischemia. When this condition develops, it sends signals to the body and stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. The new vessels are necessary for supply of oxygen.

Proliferative:

This is the final and most severe stage of diabetic retinopathy. As we have seen in third stage that signals are sent to body for developing new vessels, the body responds to it and develops new ones. But unfortunately, the new developed vessels are abnormal. This condition is called retinal neovascularisation. These blood vessels are fragile and tend to break easily. Instead of supplying oxygen, the blood vessels break and cause hemorrhage into the vitreous. This can result in severe vision loss and retinal detachment. This stage is usually maintained with retinal laser photocoagulation. Vitrectomy is also performed in some cases.

Consult your doctor to know more about this condition.

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