Visual dysfunction in diabetes. The science of patient impairment and health care. Eds: Tombran-Tink J, Barnstable C, and Gardner T (2012) Softcover ISBN: 978-1-60761-149-3 Humana Press

Excerpt

Diabetes mellitus is one of the biggest public health problems of our age. Data presented by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2012 show that 29 million Americans, or 9.3 % of the population, had diabetes, while the International Diabetes Foundation presented similar estimates for Europe in 2010. Furthermore, it is believed that 86 million Americans, or 27 % of the total population, live with pre-diabetes and, therefore, are at risk of developing the disease. All these numbers are expected to increase in the future with the projected change in Western population age structure and the consequent inevitable increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Is this important to scientists involved in vision research or eye care professionals? The answer is a definitive “yes”, as it has been demonstrated again and again over the years that diabetes has a substantial negative effect on the functioning and overall health of the eye. According to the ADA, 4.2 million Americans 40 years or older with diabetes had diabetic retinopathy. This is a reason for concern: according to the World Health organization, after 15 years of diabetes, approximately 2 % of people become blind due to diabetic retinopathy and about 10 % develop severe visual impairment. Research efforts in diabetic retinopathy have increased dramatically in the past decade (2004–2013), reflected by the almost doubling of PubMed entries related to the term “diabetic retinopathy” compared to the previous decade. Therefore, a book summarizing new developments and outlining remaining gaps in our knowledge about diabetes-related eye problems and their pathogenesis or treatment would be helpful and timely, as few titles with an emphasis on the scientific perspective have appeared in the last decade for this field. As part of the series Ophthalmology Research by Springer, the current title under the editorship of Tombran-Tink, Barnstabe, and Gardner fills this need relatively well. It succeeds in summarizing recent advancements in our knowledge in the field with a well illustrated presentation, up-to-date references, and an authorship selected from an international group of respected investigators with proven contributions to the field. …