Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of morbidity. It has been estimated that 10 million people in the U.S. have diabetes mellitus. Within this group, the risk of developing retinopathy increases with diabetes duration. Among those persons who have had insulin-dependent diabetes for more than 30 years, approximately 12% are blind (Parnes & Singerman, 1994, p. 236).

The normal retina consists of a "delicate nervous membrane (Gray & Goss, 1962, p. 1108)." Its primary function is to receive the images of external objects. Retinal circulation derives from the central artery of the retina; this small vessel is typically the first branch of the ophthalmic artery (Gray & Goss, 1962, p. 636). Retinal capillaries generally contain a lining of endothelial cells. These cells rest on a basement membrane and are interconnected by structures similar to tight junctions. In conjunction with the basement membrane, the intercellular connections for

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ive diabetic retinopathy. Each of these individual subgroups comprises an array of pathological features. Terms such as "non-retinopathy" and "pre-proliferative retinopathy" may connote different levels of the two subgroups, respectively. Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy typically involves the following: (1) various levels of microaneurysms; (2) lipid exudation; (3) hemorrhage; (4) venous changes; and (5) microinfarcts, or "cotton wool spots (Mames, 1994, p. 240)." In contrast, the more vision-threatening, proliferative retinopathy, consists of nonproliferative disease plus the growth of new blood vessels. "High risk characteristics" in proliferative disease may additionally include such things as "severe disc neovascularization alone, or moderate neovascularization and/or moderate neovascularization elsewhere accompanied by preretinal or vitreous hemorrhage (Parnes & Singerman, 1994, p. 237)." Although diabetic retinopathy has been the focus of considerable research, its exact biochemical and molecular mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. However, what is known is that the disease affects people with both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Since these two diseases--each of which has a
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Approximate Word count = 1539
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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