Retinopathy of different etiology treatment using fetal stem cells

What is it?

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when retina of the patient is damaged, its blood vessels, in particular.

Who is affected?

diabetic retinopathy treatmentIt is caused as a rule by complications that appear in diabetic patients. Any who has Diabetes Type 1 or Type 2 can obtain it. It is very important to treat the the disease because it can bring to blindness if untreated. In accordance with calculations, 80% of all people who are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus have degeneration of retina.

When the disease begins, there are no any noticeable changes in vision of the person. It is hard even for ophthalmologist to determine the signs of the problem. Therefore it is important to be examined regularly in order to be protected from the terrible consequences that can occur if you do not treat it in time. The risk is bigger when the person does not control his blood sugar level.

In accordance with the information provided by the National Institutes of Health (United States) about 16 million of people in the USA suffer from retinopathy, but 50% of them do not get the proper treatment. Therefore the  disease is the main cause for blindness cases among US patients who belong to the age group 25-74 years of age. Every year about 8000 cases of this kind are revealed. About 12% of all blindness cases appear because of  it.

Symptoms of degeneration of retina

When the condition just begins developing there are actually no symptoms that would tell you that you are in danger. You can notice that something is wrong with you when you are on an advanced stage of retinopathy. Therefore regular visits to a doctor are required.

Symptoms on the advanced stage of the diseaseare the following:

  • Blurred deteriorated vision.
  • Worse vision of both eyes.
  • Deteriorated ability to differentiate colors.
  • Floaters that look as transparent spots in the field of the person. They can look as dark strings.
  • Empty areas or patches.
  • Bad vision at night.
  • Unexpected blindness.

Risk factors for development of degeneration of retina

What raises the probability of disease development? Here are some factors that increase the likelihood that you will develop it:

  • Bad control of blood sugar
  • Hypertension
  • High level of cholesterol
  • Pregnancy
  • Regular smoking
  • Diabetes

Diabetic retinopathy causes

The retina is a layer on the inner side of the back of the eye that senses light and then sends impulses to the brain via optic nerve. The center of retina is sensitive tissue that is called macula. Due to it you are able to define the details well. The macula is needed when the detailed concentration is necessary. Thanks to it you differentiate colors so when it is damaged you are unable to do it.

For proper work of retina good blood supply is needed. When patient has elevated level of glucose in the blood then, as experts believe, it affects the blood vessels. When  they leak this does not tell on vision as a rule. Small  veins nourish the macula. When something is wrong with them, the person is not able to see the details well.

Experts distinguish early diabetic and advanced diabetic retinopathy.

1) On the stage of early diabetic retinopathy the walls become weaker. It causes microaneurysms. Bulges develop in the walls of affected  veins. These bulges start bleeding but this does not make the vision of the patient deteriorated.

2) Blocked blood vessels are not able to nourish the retina. The body tries to protect itself creating new  ones in this zone, but the new ones are not stable enough and can’t be substitutes for the predecessors.

How to diagnose it?

  • Dilated eye examination (with help of eyedrops that dilate eyes and photographs taken);
  • Fluorescein angiography (with help of fluorescein that is injected into the arm and photos of eye taken);
  • OCT (stands for optical coherence tomography) – HR retina images in cross section. The aim of the examination is to see how thick it is. When further scans are made the efficacy of therapy is checked.

Therapy in Unique Cell Treatment Clinic

Right diagnosing can make the therapyeffective. For instance, when fluorescein angiography reveals definite blockage in the  veins accurate laser treatment can save a person from blindness.

Treatment can include focal , scatter laser treatment, vitrectomy.

Among possible complications are:

  • Vitreous hemorrhage
  • Detached retina
  • Glaucoma

Stem cell administration is also one of the methods that is applied now on routine basis. It is conducted in UCTC. The stem cells are safely injected to the area adjacent to the eye. This is non-surgical new technique and the patients are able to benefit much from it.

The patients prefer more secure treatment provided by stem cell therapy. Almost all are pleased with  it in the stem cell therapy clinic in Kiev.