Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important cause of preventable blindness worldwide. DR is a complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that damages the retina. Retina helps you see by acting as the film projector in the back of your eye, projecting the image to your brain. Diabetes damages the tiny blood vessels that nourish the retina. In the early stages, known as non-proliferative or background retinopathy, the vessels in the retina weaken and begin to leak, forming small, dots of bleeding.
When retinopathy advances, the decreased blood circulation deprives areas of the retina of oxygen. DR can lead to severe visual loss or blindness in 2 ways.
- Diabetic maculopathy: when macula (the central part of your retina that provides you with sharp, central vision) become swollen
- Proliferative DR: New, abnormal, blood vessels may then start to grow along the retina and surface of the vitreous (the transparent gel that fills the inner part of the eye). These delicate new vessels can bleed easily causing “floaters” (spots that appear to drift in front of the eyes), along with decreased vision. Scar tissue may formed which can pull off the retina, causing a tractional retinal detachment (TRD). In the later phases of the disease, continued abnormal vessel growth and scar tissue may cause a total retinal detachment and glaucoma. The result of either problem, if left untreated, is loss of sight and potentially blindness.