TCOYD TV: Diabetic Eye Disease - Prevention, screening and treatments for diabetic retinopathy
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness. In this episode, Dr. Steven Edelman and Dr. Paul Tornambe discuss the structures of the eye and the impact of high blood sugars on the eye. The importance of proper examinations to screen for non-proliferative and proliferative retinopathy is emphasized, and the experts give a thorough review of current and developing treatments for retinopathy.
Atask as mundane as cutting your toenails can pose
a problem for some people, whether or not they have
diabetes. If you have visual impairment (from retinopathy
or another cause); or disabling arthritis in your hips or knees
preventing you from reaching your toes; or poor circulation;
or simply a midsection large enough to interfere with your
ability to reach your toes, cutting your nails can be a challenge!
Also, if you have some nerve damage from diabetes
(peripheral neuropathy), and your feet are numb as a result of
that, then it is really not a good idea to cut your own nails due
to the chance of unknowingly injuring yourself. In all these
above scenarios, it is much safer to seek professional help.
Irl. B. Hirsch, MD TCOYD Newsletter, Vol. 23, 2007
Understanding pro- and anti-oxidants, and their role in diabetes complications
In the past few years, much has been learned about why people
with diabetes get complications from diabetes. These complications
tend to involve tissues from the vascular system and are
broadly defined as microvascular (involving the small blood
vessels) and macrovascular (involving the larger blood vessels).
Susan Phillips, MD TCOYD Newsletter, Vol. 23, 2007
Caring for Infants and Toddlers
The management of type 1 diabetes
mellitus (T1DM) in infants and
toddlers is a complex set of problems.
Optimal management of these issues
requires close cooperation between
the patient, family and health care
team.
Technology that will change the lives of people with diabetes.
The goals for glycemic control have changed dramatically since the results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) were announced in 1993. Since that time, caregivers have stressed that getting glucose values to as close to normal as possible is urgently needed to avoid blindness, nerve disease, amputations and dialysis-those dreaded complications all of us with diabetes and our loved ones fear. However, this puts people with diabetes at serious risk for hypoglycemia. This is especially true as the goals for glycemic control become tighter and tighter with the ultimate goal of normalizing the A1c to below 6.5%.
