Diabetes & Hormones · In-depth guide
Diabetes Ocular complications
Diabetes Ocular complications
Key points
- Diabetic cataracts - Premature cataracts occur in diabetic patients and seem to correlate with both the duration of diabetes and the severity of chronic hyperglycemia.
- Vision-threatening retinopathy virtually never appears in type 1 patients in the first 3-5 years of diabetes or before puberty.
- Proliferative retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, particularly since it increases the risk of retinal detachment.
- Nonenzymatic glycosylation of lens protein is twice as high in diabetic patients as in age-matched nondiabetic persons and may contribute to the premature occurrence of cataracts.
Explore Diabetes Ocular complications
1. Diabetic cataracts - Premature cataracts occur in diabetic patients and seem to correlate with both the duration of diabetes and the severity of chronic hyperglycemia. Nonenzymatic glycosylation of lens protein is twice as high in diabetic patients as in age-matched nondiabetic persons and may contribute to the premature occurrence of cataracts.
2. Diabetic retinopathy - Three main categories exist: background, or "simple," retinopathy, consisting of microaneurysms, hemorrhages, exudates, and retinal edema; preproliferative retinopathy with arteriolar ischemia manifested as cotton-wool spots (small infarcted areas of retina); and proliferative, or "malignant," retinopathy, consisting of newly formed vessels. Proliferative retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, particularly since it increases the risk of retinal detachment.
Diabetes Chronic Complications
Ocular complications
L Diabetic cataracts
L Diabetic retinopathy
L Glaucoma
Diabetic Nephropathy
L Microalbuminuria
L Progressive diabetic nephropathy
Diabetic Neuropathy
L Peripheral neuropathy
L Autonomic neuropathy
Cardiovascular complications
L Heart disease
L Peripheral vascular disease
