Diabetics risk going blind if they do not control their illness, writes KASMIAH MUSTAPHA. AS symptoms only manifest until it is too late, most diabetics do not know they are at risk of developing other serious illnesses related to their disease. One such malady is diabetic retinopathy or diabetic eye disease, a highly specific vascular complication of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Universiti Sains Malaysia Professor of Medicine Dr Mafauzy Mohamed says the condition, if untreated, will lead to vision deterioration and ultimately, blindness.

"Most diabetics are not aware they can become blind if they do not control their blood sugar level. As diabetes is often diagnosed late, when patients have been suffering from it for four to five years, they could already be at risk of diabetic retinopathy.
The disease is responsible for over 80 per cent of blindness in diabetics. It blinds 25,000 diabetics each year.

Blindness results from damaged blood vessels next to the retina. Swollen, leaking and bleeding capillaries are blocked, cutting off blood and oxygen supply to small sections of the retina.

In a study conducted on the effectiveness of diabetic treatment in local hospitals last year, Dr Mafauzy discovered that 27.3 per cent of the 1,099 patients surveyed suffered from retinopathy.

"One out of 100 of them are already in the early stages of blindness," he said.

Of the number of patients he surveyed, 27 per cent had eye damage, one per cent were blind, 10.8 per cent had eye problems that needed laser treatment, 16 per cent had cataracts, 11.1 per cent had early symptoms that if left untreated can cause serious retinopathy, and 5.4 per cent had advanced eye disease or severe visual impairment.

Dr Mafauzy says almost all diabetics will suffer from some form of eye damage if they do not control their blood sugar level.

"More than 60 per cent of Type 2 diabetic patients had eye diseases."

Besides controlling their blood sugar levels and hypertension, Type 2 diabetics need to go for eye checkups every year. Those with Type 1 diabetes should go for a checkup five years after they have been diagnosed.

Dr Mafauzy says laser treatment is used to prevent the eye from getting worse by repairing leaking and bleeding vessels with cauterisation.

"This treatment is to prevent blindness. It is not to restore vision. If the damage has set in, it is not reversible. Doctors can only prevent it from getting worst. That is why diabetics need to control their condition by eating healthy, exercising and taking their medication."

In a recent sub-study on Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (Field) it was revealed that fenofibrate, a lipid modifying agent is found to be effective to treat diabetic retinopathy.

With fenofibrate, the use of laser treatment therapy was reduced by 30 per cent. In addition there was also a significant reduction in the progression of the disease.

In the year 2000, there were 940,000 adult diabetics in the country, and it is estimated 2.48 million will suffer from it by 2030.

Diabetes is the sixth leading of death. It is also the leading cause cause of renal failure, new cases of blindness and non-traumatic amputations.

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