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Diabetic Retinopathy Stages (or Types)
The diabetic retinopathy does not appear overnight, instead, it has a few stages (or types) in which damage appears and spreads.
Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
The first stage is the early diabetic retinopathy, medically called nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). This is the more common form, in which the development of new blood vessels does not occur. Instead, the walls of the blood vessels located in your retina get weak and damaged. In these small blood vessels, tiny bulges protrude forming microaneurysms, receiving the medical name of background retinopathy.
This will not usually cause problems in the vision, however, in more serious cases with a large number of microaneurysms, is more likely to affect your vision.
Sometimes, blood or fluid can leak from these bulges into the retina. If the macula (the part of the eye that provides us with the central vision) gets affected by this, producing an increase in fluid pressure and swelling in the area (macular edema), blurry vision can appear, especially while reading. Medically, this is called diabetic maculopathy. Also, in this stage, dilation of larger vessels and nerve fibers may appear. The severity of the retinopathy is related to the number of affected blood vessels of the retina.
Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
The advanced diabetic retinopathy, which is the second stage, also known as the proliferative stage (PDR), is more severe than the previous. Its appearance is considered as an attempt to save the retina by growing new blood vessels.
In this type of diabetic retinopathy, new but abnormal blood vessels grow in the retina, leaking into the vitreous humor (the substance that fills the center of the eye and one of the elements that function as a lens).
This growth stimulates scar tissue which may cause the retina to detach from its position. Increased eye pressure may appear, damaging the optic nerve, resulting in glaucoma.
