The early stages of diabetic retinopathy usually have no symptoms. The disease often progresses unnoticed until bleeding occurs and affects vision. The lack of prompt or routine retinal health checks increases the risk of permanent vision loss. If diabetic macular edema (DME) occurs, it can result in blurred vision.

View larger

The National Eye Institute recommends five simple steps to help manage diabetes:

Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor
Reach and maintain a healthy weight
Add more physical activity to your daily routine
Control your ABCs-A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Kick the smoking habit

*(NEHEP) is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Diabetes is a "head to toe" disease that requires constant monitoring and management. The onset of diabetes may often affect multiple body systems, including vision. The reverse may also be true. The onset of diabetic retinopathy or diabetic nephropathy is often the first indication that the patient is diabetic. This calls for a multi-specialty approach to the management of diabetes.

Watch four clinicians from across multiple specialties discuss the importance and advantages of a team-based approach to diabetes care management.

CIRRUS™ AngioPlex^® OCT Angiography (OCTA) technology has created a new era in both Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and angiography. OCTA provides a non-invasive method that aids in the diagnosis and management of vascular diseases, the benefits of which are still being explored.In this video, Amir H. Kashani, MD, PhD, describes why diabetic retinopathy may be the perfect model for understanding the potential role of OCT angiography in diagnosing, grading and managing retinal and macular pathology.