I see patients that have lost vision from macular degeneration; wet macular degeneration and dry macular degeneration. Wet Macular Degeneration. The most severe form of macular degeneration is the wet form. Abnormal blood vessels, aka choroidal neovascularization, develop within in the layers of the retina/macula. These vessels destroy normal macular tissue and … [Read more...]
Diabetic Retinopathy: Have You Lost Vision from Diabetic Retinopathy?
October 15, 2009 By 2 Comments
There are 4 stages of diabetic retinopathy. Each stage is based upon the appearance of the retinas at the time of examination and are not based upon a patient's symptoms, including vision. Many people with early diabetic retinopathy have no symptoms. Therefore, regardless of whether you are experiencing symptoms, it is imperative that if you have diabetes you schedule … [Read more...]
Diabetes – A Disease of Blood Vessels, Especially in the Eye
October 13, 2009 By 2 Comments
Did you ever hear that diabetes is a disease of blood vessels? Most people think that the definition of diabetes is simply uncontrolled blood sugar, but, in reality, diabetes may be thought of as a vascular disease. Diabetes can be a very nasty disease affecting most organs in the body. Common problems caused by diabetes include peripheral neuropathy, kidney failure … [Read more...]
Part 1: Introduction to Stem Cells and Retinal Disease
October 7, 2009 By 6 Comments
This is the first of a small series regarding stem cells and their potential benefits to retinal diseases; principally macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. As diabetic retinopathy is primarily a disease of blood vessels, i.e.poor blood flow, loss of blood flow, leaking vessels, etc., macular degeneration is actually a disease of one of the layers of the … [Read more...]
Everything “Macular” – What is the Macula?
September 30, 2009 By 4 Comments
The macula is a place. It is the functional center of the retina. The term macular is an adjective. "Macular" is not a disease. Too many patients also believe that "macular" and macular degeneration are synonyms. They are not. Definition - The macula is the most sensitive area of your retina. It is approximately 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm. It provides us with our … [Read more...]
Floaters, Are They Normal or due to Diabetic Retinopathy?
September 25, 2009 By 3 Comments
Floaters are generically defined as black spots in your vision. They move to and fro with eye movement. Most of the time they are small, tiny and black, but really can be large and translucent, too. From a doctor's standpoint, size does not matter. New floaters can mean a retinal tear and the development of a retinal detachment. Floaters can develop from a … [Read more...]
Laser Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy Still The Best: True Cases
September 24, 2009 By 1 Comment
I saw two patients (RJ and JR) yesterday that have the same "problem." They both are patients with diabetes and both have advanced, or proliferative, diabetic retinopathy. Both have had diabetes for over 20 years, are on insulin and have been treated with pan-retinal photocoagulation to control the proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Both still have 20/20 vision. … [Read more...]
Successful Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
September 3, 2009 By 2 Comments
I have a patient, BG, with diabetes mellitus. BG has had diabetes for over 45 years. She is 60 years old. I saw her yesterday and will not see her for another 6 months. She has had a long course with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Her vision is 20/25 in both eyes. BG has had multiple laser treatments and vitrectomy surgery. I want to share her … [Read more...]
How Many Intraocular Injections (eg Avastin) Are Too Many?
August 27, 2009 By 2 Comments
Intraocular anti-VEGF injections are commonly used to treat wet macular degeneration. "Libbyextra" follows me on Twitter. She asked, "Is there a limit to the number of injections (Avastin) a patient can have?" There are two ways to answer this. I do not believe there are any physical restrictions limiting the number of injections an eye can be given. The … [Read more...]
