Diabetes is a risk factor for many serious complications of healthsuch as kidney disease and blood pressure.
In extreme cases, could also cause blindness. However, detecting early signs in the eyes, such as floaters, could indicate and prevent a person’s risk of diabetic blindness.
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Symptoms
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina, the most common diabetic eye disease and the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in adults between the ages of 35 and 50.
Scar tissue growth can cause eye floaters, which are spots in your vision that can appear as black or gray dots, strings, or cobwebs that move when you move your eyes.
Other symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include:
- Gradually worsening vision
- Sudden vision loss
- Forms floating in your field of bison
- Blurred or irregular eye vision
- Eye pain and redness
One in three people living with diabetes has some degree of diabetic retinopathy and all people with diabetes are at risk of developing it.
Orbis UK described the four stages of diabetic retinopathy:
Mild nonproliferative retinopathy: In the earliest stage of the disease, small bulges in the blood vessels of the retina can leak fluid into the retina. This can also cause swelling in the macula and cause bloody vision.
Moderate nonproliferative retinopathy: During this stage, the blood vessels of the retina become inflamed and can become blocked. This can contribute to diabetic macular edema, which is a buildup of fluid in the macular region of the retina, causing vision changes or loss of vision.
Severe nonproliferative retinopathy: In this stage, an increasing number of blood vessels in the eye are blocked. As a result, the retina is signaled to grow new blood vessels. If the blood vessels are completely lost, this can lead to blurred vision with dark spots (floaters).
Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy: In the final stage, the retina is deprived of oxygen and new blood vessels grow within the retina and in the vitreous gel, the fluid that fills the eyes. Because these blood vessels are delicate, they can begin to drip and bleed.
Scar tissue can form, leading to retinal detachments, where the retina separates from the underlying tissue.
Retinal detachment can cause irregular vision, flashes of light, or severe vision loss.
A new investigation, carried out in the Indiana University School of Optometryfound that these changes could be measured with specialized optical techniques and computer analysis.
The team noted that screening for biomarkers of the sight-threatening condition could, in turn, lead to early identification of people at risk of diabetes or visual impairment.
Study co-author Ann E. Ellsner, a professor at the IU Faculty of Optometryhe said: «Early detection with painless methods could help identify undiagnosed patients early enough to to reduce the consequences of uncontrolled diabetes.
«Many algorithms use any image information that differs between diabetic patients and controls, which can identify which individuals may have diabetes, but these may be non-specific.»
«Our method can be combined with other AI methods to provide localized early information on specific layers or tissue types of the retina, allowing the inclusion of information not analyzed in the other algorithms.»
Prevention of diabetic retinopathy: according to the NHS, Adopting some lifestyle changes can improve your overall health and reduce your risk of developing retinopathy.
The healthy body said: “Eat a healthy and balanced dietin particular, try reduce salt, fat and sugar. If you are overweight, you should aim for a BMI of 18.5 and 24.9.»
«I tried to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as walking or cycling, per week. Doing 10,000 steps a day can be a good way to reach this goal«.