Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular disorder occurring due to long term effects of diabetes, leading to vision-threatening damage to the retina, eventually leading to blindness. It is the most common cause of severe vision loss in adults of working age groups in the western world. Early detection and timely intervention is the key to avoid blindness due to diabetic retinopathy. The number of patients with diabetic retinopathy in America is estimated to reach 16.0 million by 2050, with vision-threatening complications affecting around 3.4 million of them. The usefulness of strict glycemic control was clearly seen in clinical trials like the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) and Diabetes Control and Complication Trial (DCCT).
Out of which diabetic retinopathy is the most common and severe ocular complication. Poor glycemic control, uncontrolled hypertension, dyslipidemia, nephropathy, male sex, and obesity are associated with worsening of diabetic retinopathy.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was first is a non-invasive ocular imaging technology.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurs commonly in young individuals where newly formed vessels appear at the margin of the ischemic area.