Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Overview Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the pancreas does not secrete enough insulin or the body is unable to process it properly.
Diabetes can affect children and adults.
Patients with diabetes are more likely to develop eye problems such as cataracts and glaucoma , but the disease s affect on the retina is the main threat to vision. Most patients develop diabetic changes in the retina after approximately 20 years. The effect of diabetes on the eye is called diabetic retinopathy. Over time, diabetes affects the circulatory system of the retina. The earliest phase of the disease is known as background diabetic retinopathy.