Diabetic retinopathy refers to the changes that develop in the retina in people plagued by diabetes. The retina is the light-sensing layer of the eye present at the very back of the eye. It is richly supplied with blood vessels and directly relays visual information it receives to the part of the brain associated with vision, through the optic nerve. With the increase in life expectancy of people suffering from diabetes more cases of Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is being diagnosed. It has come to such an extent that it is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world!

The duration of diabetes is the most important factor in the development of such a condition with about 20% of diabetics developing DR after 10 years and that number dangerously increasing anywhere between 75% to 90% after 20 years. Heredity, smoking, and poor blood sugar control can accelerate the disease. Other co-morbid diseases like high blood pressure and obesity also accentuate the development of the condition.

The disease develops due to increased blood sugar in the body which damages blood vessels throughout the body by weakening the walls of the vessels. Thus these vessels start leaking blood into the retina causing deterioration of vision.