Diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes, is detected during a comprehensive eye exam that includes:

• Visual acuity testing.
• Dilated exam in which drops are placed to widen the pupil to allow examination of the retina.
• Tonometry. Measurement of the eye pressure inside the eye.

Supplemental testing may include:

• Optical coherence tomography (OCT). This is a non-invasive test that images the retina to detect any fluid or diabetic macular edema.
• Fluorescein Angiography. This test involves an injection of a dye into your arm and a series of pictures that are taken as the dye flows through the retinal vessels. This may show leakage of fluid or the growth of new blood vessels in the retina.

Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy

The best treatment is prevention of diabetic retinopathy by strict control of blood sugars. Once diabetic retinopathy is present, treatment of diabetic retinopathy will slow progression but won’t...

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive degenerative condition of the neurological system.  The majority of Parkinson’s effects are on movement, often starting off very slowly and subtly. One of the earliest symptoms is a slight tremor in one or both hands. Other early symptoms include a lack of facial expression and decreased blinking of the eyes, so it looks like the person is always staring.  

The next stage usually results in difficulty with initiating movement, especially walking.  It frequently looks like it takes a tremendous concentrated effort to initiate walking and the steps often start off very small with a shuffling of the feet.  At the same time, the disease stiffens the muscles of the arms so that when the person is walking there is a noticeable decrease in the swinging of the arms. Speech becomes much softer and writing becomes more of an effort, with handwriting getting smaller and smaller as the disease progresses.

Parkinson’s can also affect your visual...