LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Diabetic blindness can be prevented if the disease is diagnosed and treated in time, said the American Academy of Ophthalmology Friday.
"Only 50 to 60 percent of those with diabetes get the recommended yearly eye examinations," said Jose Pulido, the Academy's medical correspondent at the group's 2006 annual meeting in Las Vegas. "Studies show effective treatments, including an annual dilated eye exam, can reduce severe vision loss by up to 94 percent."
The American Diabetes Association estimates that 20.8 million people in the United States have diabetes and nearly one-third of them don't know it. Since eye problems can be one of the first symptoms of the disease, "This is a tragedy waiting to happen," said Pulido.
AAO said high blood sugar weakens blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye, making them leak blood and fluid and that causes swelling. The same high sugar levels also promote the growth of new blood vessels that can cover the retina and block vision or leak blood into the jelly-like substance that fills the center of the eye, making it opaque.
The condition is incurable, but treatment is advancing that can now slow or stop the problem.
Both groups recommended the yearly eye exams, not smoking, and checking hemoglobin A1c levels (that measure blood sugar control) at least once a year for non-diabetics and every four months for diabetics.
