Diabetes can cause neovascular disease in the eye, blindness disease 'Glaucoma'
Sep 09, 2024
The number of patients with diabetes, which has emerged as a representative disease of modern people, is increasing due to westernized eating habits, lack of exercise, and sedentary life. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of diabetic patients in 2023 was 3,837,771, an increase of about 19% in five years from 2019.
Diabetes is a disease that causes various complications and is also accompanied by eye-related complications, which can also cause glaucoma, a representative blindness disease, so caution is needed.
Glaucoma is a disease that gradually narrows the field of vision and can eventually lead to blindness as the optic nerve is damaged due to various causes such as increased intraocular pressure. Glaucoma is one of the eye diseases that makes it difficult to recognize symptoms because abnormal findings gradually appear, such as narrowing of vision from the periphery of the eye only after more than 30% of the optic nerve is damaged. Because once damaged optic nerves are difficult to recover, early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma are very important.
Diabetes can cause microvessels to fail to circulate properly, causing disorders in the microvessels that go to the eye, in which case the eye can create new blood vessels on its own to make up for insufficient blood and nutrition. Unlike normal blood vessels, new blood vessels made in the eyes are very weak and unstable, which can easily rupture, bleed, and inflammation, and interfere with the smooth flow of 'waterproofing' that maintains intraocular pressure, increasing intraocular pressure and even glaucoma. This is referred to as 'neo-vascular glaucoma'.
Neovascular glaucoma, like general glaucoma, is difficult to detect in the early stages. This is because if the neovascular is not found in the anterior angle, which is responsible for intraocular pressure, or if the degree of neovascular proliferation is fine, the intraocular pressure may be normal. However, when new blood vessels are generated in the anterior angle, it affects the discharge of waterproofing, a liquid flowing through the eye, which can lead to increased intraocular pressure, eye pain, conjunctival congestion, and corneal edema. When the intraocular pressure rises, the optic nerve in the eye is pressed and weakened, which can lead to gradually narrowing of vision and blindness. Since once damaged optic nerves are not easy to recover again and the risk of blindness is high if proper treatment is not done, early detection and treatment of neovascular glaucoma is also very important.
Therefore, if you have diabetes, it is recommended to thoroughly manage diabetes first, and check for the presence or absence of new blood vessels in the iris or anterior angle through regular ophthalmic examinations. Even if a new blood vessel has already developed in the iris, if it is detected early, intra-glass injection or pan-retin photocoagulation can be performed depending on the blood circulation state of the retina and the development state of the new blood vessel. In addition, depending on the patient's eye condition, neovascular glaucoma progresses a lot, so if the eye pressure is high, eye drops that lower eye pressure, atropine eye drops to reduce pain, and steroid eye drops can be noticed if inflammation is accompanied.
Jeong Jong-jin, a specialist at the Glaucoma Center at Kim Ophthalmology Hospital, said "New vascular glaucoma is difficult to recognize or detect symptoms in the early stages."If you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to thoroughly manage diabetes and prepare for eye complications by checking and managing the presence of neovascular glaucoma through regular ophthalmic examinations regardless of your eye symptoms."
Diabetes is a disease that causes various complications and is also accompanied by eye-related complications, which can also cause glaucoma, a representative blindness disease, so caution is needed.
Glaucoma is a disease that gradually narrows the field of vision and can eventually lead to blindness as the optic nerve is damaged due to various causes such as increased intraocular pressure. Glaucoma is one of the eye diseases that makes it difficult to recognize symptoms because abnormal findings gradually appear, such as narrowing of vision from the periphery of the eye only after more than 30% of the optic nerve is damaged. Because once damaged optic nerves are difficult to recover, early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma are very important.
Diabetes can cause microvessels to fail to circulate properly, causing disorders in the microvessels that go to the eye, in which case the eye can create new blood vessels on its own to make up for insufficient blood and nutrition. Unlike normal blood vessels, new blood vessels made in the eyes are very weak and unstable, which can easily rupture, bleed, and inflammation, and interfere with the smooth flow of 'waterproofing' that maintains intraocular pressure, increasing intraocular pressure and even glaucoma. This is referred to as 'neo-vascular glaucoma'.
Neovascular glaucoma, like general glaucoma, is difficult to detect in the early stages. This is because if the neovascular is not found in the anterior angle, which is responsible for intraocular pressure, or if the degree of neovascular proliferation is fine, the intraocular pressure may be normal. However, when new blood vessels are generated in the anterior angle, it affects the discharge of waterproofing, a liquid flowing through the eye, which can lead to increased intraocular pressure, eye pain, conjunctival congestion, and corneal edema. When the intraocular pressure rises, the optic nerve in the eye is pressed and weakened, which can lead to gradually narrowing of vision and blindness. Since once damaged optic nerves are not easy to recover again and the risk of blindness is high if proper treatment is not done, early detection and treatment of neovascular glaucoma is also very important.
Therefore, if you have diabetes, it is recommended to thoroughly manage diabetes first, and check for the presence or absence of new blood vessels in the iris or anterior angle through regular ophthalmic examinations. Even if a new blood vessel has already developed in the iris, if it is detected early, intra-glass injection or pan-retin photocoagulation can be performed depending on the blood circulation state of the retina and the development state of the new blood vessel. In addition, depending on the patient's eye condition, neovascular glaucoma progresses a lot, so if the eye pressure is high, eye drops that lower eye pressure, atropine eye drops to reduce pain, and steroid eye drops can be noticed if inflammation is accompanied.
Jeong Jong-jin, a specialist at the Glaucoma Center at Kim Ophthalmology Hospital, said "New vascular glaucoma is difficult to recognize or detect symptoms in the early stages."If you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to thoroughly manage diabetes and prepare for eye complications by checking and managing the presence of neovascular glaucoma through regular ophthalmic examinations regardless of your eye symptoms."
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