Webster's New World Medical Dictionary

diabetic neuropathy
Nerve damage caused by
diabetes that leads to numbness and sometimes pain
and weakness in the hands, arms, feet, and legs.
Diabetic neuropathy can affect the digestive tract,
heart, and genitalia. The longer a person has dia-
betes, the greater the risk of neuropathy. There are
four types of diabetic neuropathy: peripheral, auto-
nomic, proximal, and focal. Peripheral neuropathy,
the most common, causes pain or loss of feeling in
the hands, arms, feet, and legs. Autonomic neuropa-
thy can cause changes in digestion, bowel and blad-
der control problems, and erectile dysfunction, and
it can affect the nerves that serve the heart and con-
trol blood pressure. Proximal neuropathy produces
pain in the thighs and hips and weakness in the legs.
Focal neuropathy can strike any nerve in the body,
causing pain or weakness. Treatment of diabetic
neuropathy principally involves bringing the blood
glucose and glycohemoglobin levels into the normal
range. Good foot care is mandatory. Analgesics, low
doses of antidepressants, and some anticonvulsant
diabetes mellitus
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medications may be prescribed for relief of pain,
burning, or tingling. Some patients may find that
walking regularly, taking warm baths, and using elas-
tic stockings help relieve leg pain due to diabetic
neuropathy.
diabetic retinopathy
Disease of the retina
caused by diabetes that involves damage to the tiny
blood vessels in the back of the eye. Early disease
may not cause symptoms. As the disease progresses,
it enters its advanced, or proliferative, stage. Fragile,
new blood vessels grow along the retina and in the
clear, gel-like vitreous that fills the inside of the eye.
Without timely treatment, these new blood vessels
can bleed, cloud vision, and destroy the retina.
Everyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes is at risk for
diabetic retinopathy. Swelling in the portion of the
retina that is most sensitive to light (macular
edema) makes it hard for a patient to do things like
read and drive. As new blood vessels form at the
back of the eye, they can bleed and further blur
vision. Large hemorrhages tend to happen more
than once, often during sleep. There are no early
warning signs. Diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy is
made during an eye examination that includes a
visual acuity test, pupil dilation, ophthalmoscopy (to
look in the back of the eye), and tonometry (to
check the pressures). The two treatments for dia-
betic retinopathy are laser surgery, to stop the
edema and hemorrhage, and vitrectomy, to remove
blood from the back of the eye. It is strongly rec-
ommended that all diabetics have eye examinations
at least once (ideally twice) a year.