The Role of Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopath - Dissertation Example

Insulin is an important component in the regulation of the glucose pathway in humans as well as some other animals. Because of this, the inability to effectively create or use insulin results in significant health problems, and also has the potential to create diabetic complications as the disease progresses (Hartnett et al. 2000). Diabetes dramatically increases the chance of obtaining either a vascular or a microvascular condition (Pennathur and Heinecke 2004). The first form of diabetes is type I, where individuals are unable to produce insulin.

People with this form of diabetes make up approximately five to ten percent of the diabetic population. They are also known as insulin-dependent (IDDM), and the two terms can be used interchangeably. In contrast, the remainder of diabetes patients are able to produce insulin but do not have the correct cellular response to the hormone. This is known as type II diabetes. Individuals with this form of the disease are non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM). As diabetes progresses, a number of different complications can develop, including diabetic retinopathy, which results in permanent loss of vision due to tissue damage (Hartnett et al. 2000). .

Because this occurs, the oxidative species are able to significantly damage the tissues of the body (Evans et al. 2003). It is argued that this is strongly related to the development of hyperglycemia (Cvetkovic et al. 2009). The development of complications has significant impact for people suffering from diabetes, resulting in significant decreases in quality of life, among other effects. One particularly strong effect of diabetic retinopathy is that at the current time it is incurable, meaning that people with this complication must life with its effects for the rest of their lives.

Currently, diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common complications that occurs as the result of diabetes, and the majority or all suffers will end up with the complication after having diabetes for between 15 and 20 years (Bucolo et al. 2012). Because of the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and its significant effects, it is crucial to understand the way that this complication develops, and whether these mechanisms are able to be used in the development of preventative or curative treatments for the disorder.

As with other diabetic complications, oxidative stress is believed to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this paper is to examine recent research in the field of oxidative stress in diabetic retinopathy, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of current knowledge. It is hoped that the conclusions of this paper will help to inform future research and determine the gaps present in the research on this area. 2. Oxidative Stress in Diabetes Oxidative stress is the underlying factor in most mechanisms of diabetes (Neri