Back Bencher's Note: Must Know About Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) The word diabetes mellitus comes from the Greek words “Diabetes” means “siphon” and mellitus which means “honey tested urine”. According to American Diabetes Association, the diagnosis of diabetes can be made in a person who symptomatic with polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, weight loss, and random plasma glucose level is >= 200 mg/dl and or fasting glucose level is >= 126 mg/dl. Diabetic retinopathy is a vascular complication of the disease and a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Risk factors for the development of DR: Duration of diabetes Poor control of diabetes. Pregnancy Hypertension, Nephropathy Miscellaneous like hyperlipidemia, smoking, cataract surgery, obesity, and anemia. Pathogenesis of DR: Characteristic pathological Changes in DR are- 1. Pericyte Loss: Abnormal pericytic deposition of material due to sorbitol or advanced glycation end products (AGEs) through the aldose reductase polyol pathway. 2. Basement Membrane (BM)Changes: Retinal Capill