Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
In Mexico, at least 14 million people have developed macular edema due to diabetes (DME), which like retinopathy affects central vision and can lead to blindness if not treated early .
"There are no exact figures for the annual prevalence of people with macular degeneration related to diabetes in the country, but throughout the world eight thousand new cases of DME and related health problems are diagnosed each year," said Rafael Bueno, chief of Retina Service at the General Hospital of the Ministry of Health in Mexico City.
A very sensitive area of the retina is called the macula, which contains a liquid that is vital to the efficient functioning of the eyeball; when this fluid tends to come out is called macular edema and can cause blindness in the patient. A reason, perhaps the main one, for the fluid in the macula to leak is the high level of glucose in blood.
It is not uncommon for diabetic macular edema to present after the onset of diabetic retinopathy, a complex process of deterioration of the retina that produces the obstruction of blood vessels and the occurrence of bleeding, because of high levels of blood glucose. In an estimated of 70 percent of patients with diabetic retinopathy, macular edema will eventually develop.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-diabetes-macular-edema-underestimated-visual.html
"There are no exact figures for the annual prevalence of people with macular degeneration related to diabetes in the country, but throughout the world eight thousand new cases of DME and related health problems are diagnosed each year," said Rafael Bueno, chief of Retina Service at the General Hospital of the Ministry of Health in Mexico City.
A very sensitive area of the retina is called the macula, which contains a liquid that is vital to the efficient functioning of the eyeball; when this fluid tends to come out is called macular edema and can cause blindness in the patient. A reason, perhaps the main one, for the fluid in the macula to leak is the high level of glucose in blood.
It is not uncommon for diabetic macular edema to present after the onset of diabetic retinopathy, a complex process of deterioration of the retina that produces the obstruction of blood vessels and the occurrence of bleeding, because of high levels of blood glucose. In an estimated of 70 percent of patients with diabetic retinopathy, macular edema will eventually develop.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-diabetes-macular-edema-underestimated-visual.html