Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy» Essay Paper

Oxidative stress is a cytopathic consequence of excessive production of ROS and the suppression of ROS removal by antioxidant defense system is implicated in the development of many diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes and its complications.Oxidative stress again represents an imbalance between the production and manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system’s ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Retinopathy, a debilitating micro vascular complication of diabetes, is the leading cause of acquired blindness in developed countries (Reenu, 2007). Retinopathy is one of the most severe ocular complications of diabetes and is a leading cause of acquired blindness in young adults. The cellular components of the retina are highly coordinated but very susceptible to the hyperglycemic environment.Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy» Essay Paper

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

Hyperglycemia

Figure 1 above shows, Glucose damages the retina via repeated acute and/or cumulative changes. Continued high circulating glucose in diabetes can damage retina via many acute and cumulative long-term changes that can cause tissue injury. Some acute insult, when repeated multiple times in this life-long disease, can result in cumulative changes in stable macromolecules.

Retinopathy

Diabetes on the other hand is a disorder or a severe health problem that is currently on rapid increase, mostly in the developed countries. It is classified into two categories: type 1 diabetes also known as juvenile onset diabetes and type 2 diabetes, which is also called non-insulin dependent diabetes. Diabetes is characterized by very high levels of glucose in the body that results to deregulation of the metabolism. Diabetics’ bodies cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood. The developed countries such as the United States, China and India are the most affected by this disorder. In addition to this, oxidative stress leads to blindness if it merges with diabetes in patients.Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy» Essay Paper

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major medical problem throughout the world. Diabetes causes an array of long-term systemic complications which have a considerable impact on both the patient and the society, because it typically affects individuals in their most productive years. The ophthalmic complications of diabetes include corneal abnormalities, glaucoma, iris neo-vascularization, cataracts and neuropathies. However, the most common and the potentially most blinding of these complications is diabetic retinopathy (Yorio, 2007).

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycaemia, together with the biochemical alteration of glucose and lipid peroxidation. DM is considered to be one of a rank of free radical diseases which propagate their complications with increased free radical formation. Oxidative stress is increased in DM, owing to an increase in the production of oxygen free radicals and a deficiency in the antioxidant defense mechanisms. The lipid per-oxidation of the cellular structures, a consequence of the increased oxygen free radicals, is thought to play an important role in the atherosclerosis and the micro-vascular complications.Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy» Essay Paper

Patients with long standing Type II DM have a higher prevalence ofsevere visual impairment that is usually associated with diabetic retinopathy. The incidence of retinopathy that increases with an increasing duration of diabetes and sustained hyperglycaemia has been identified as the major risk factor in the development of this micro-vascular complication. It is known that 20–50% of the long duration diabetes cases show proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

This type of retinopathy progresses from mild non-proliferative abnormalities to proliferative retinopathy which is characterized by the growth of new vessels on the retina and on the posterior surface of the vitreous. The exact biochemical mechanism that causes the initiation and progression of diabetic retinopathyhasbeen poorly understood. It has now been proved that the blood supply to the essential organs including the retina is reduced in long standing diabetes mellitus, owing to a failure in the auto-regulatory mechanisms. We assume that ischaemia in the inner retinal tissues produces some biochemical changes which are responsible for the morphological changes in the retina (Levin, 2008).

Oxidative stress is increased in diabetes mellitus, owing to an increased production of free radicals such as the super oxide radical, hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxide radical and free radical induced lipid per oxidation.

Taking into consideration the above facts, that chronic hyperglycaemia leads to the formation of free radicals and free radical induced lipid peroxidation, which cause microangiopathic changes like retinopathy in DM, we conducted this study with an objective to evaluate the role of oxidative stress and its correlation with hyperglycaemia in patients of Type II DM with and without retinopathy.Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy» Essay Paper