Eye Surgery Procedures & Treatment

Annual Eye Exams & Diabetic Eye Disease

Eye Exams for Eye Problems Related to Diabetes
Eyes with proliferative retinopathy are at higher risk for vision loss. With narrowing of the vascular walls from incorporation of the AGEs, the blood flow to the retina is compromised, as time goes on. Chemical signals are produced by the stressed tissue, and a complicated “call for help” results in the development of new blood vessels responding to the “need” for oxygen and nutrition. These new blood vessels, or neovascularization, mark an important transition of the diabetic retina into proliferative retinopathy. These eyes are at much higher risk for events that will result in severe visual loss: retinal hemorrhages that break through the surface, vitreous hemorrhages, scarring and contracture of the retina from overlying fibrovascular tissue, resulting in a retinal detachment.

Diabetic cataract can develop at an earlier age than usual. Its detection and treatment is the same as other cataracts. Your symptoms might include blur, glare, and loss of color vision.

Diabetic optic neuritis results from the closing of the tiny blood vessels in the nerve and is usually associated with poor circulation elsewhere.

Glaucoma, or elevated eye pressure associated with diabetes, may be the result of new blood vessels (neovascularization) forming in the iris, releasing proteins and blood that clog up the meshwork (see Glaucoma), or causing the meshwork to scar closed. Some studies have indicated that diabetes might be a risk factor for open angle glaucoma (OAG), but others have not.