Correlation between metabolic status and diabetic retinopathy evolution in type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Out of the multiple vascular complications of diabetes, retinopathy is the easiest to diagnose and monitor as the examination of the eye fundus is an easy investigation to perform, does not require expensive medical equipment and can be repeated without any risk to the patient. The appearance of the retinal vessels, the optic nerve and the retina can provide useful information on the coronary and cerebral circulation, plasma lipid levels, renal function, and the quality of the arteries of the lower limbs. It is known that visual acuity changes variably depending on the macular alteration and may decrease when edema is installed in the macular region or is altered by the appearance of hemorrhages or the presence of foveolar neovascular tissues resulting from traction retinal detachment. In the absence of proper treatment, diabetes leads to blindness. The lesions that appear are not specific to diabetes, but by combining them they create a clinical picture characteristic of this disease.

Keywords: diabetic retinopathy; fluorescein angiography; hypoxia; microaneurysms; type 1 diabetes.