Diabetic retinopathy

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Slit-lamp exam

Diabetic retinopathy

Alternative Names:

Retinopathy - diabetic

Symptoms:

One of the first symptoms of diabetic retinopathy is poor night vision. Other symptoms include:

"Floaters" (spots in front of one's eyes)
Blurredvision
Blindness

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However, many people have no symptoms before major bleeding occurs in the eye. This is why everyone with diabetes should have regular eye exams.

Signs and tests:
In nearly all cases, diabetic retinopathy can be diagnosed with an eye exam. A retinal photography test may also be used.
References:

Sydorova M, Lee MS. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Levels in Vitreous and Serum of Patients with either Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy or Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy. Ophthalmic Res. 2005 Jun 29;37(4):188-190.

Singerman L. Findings of the Phase 2 Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Pegaptanib Sodium (Macugen?) in Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2005;46: E-Abstract 4674.

Rosenblatt RJ, Benson WJ. Diabetic Retinopathy. In: Yanoff M, ed. Opthalmology. 2nd ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2004;877-887.