China News Service, Guangzhou, March 26 (Reporter Cai Minjie) "There are many eye diseases that are closely related to systemic diseases, especially chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension that are highly prevalent in the population. If not controlled, retinal vascular disease will occur, and in severe cases, it will lead to Blindness." Ge Jian, professor of Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center of Sun Yat-sen University, said at the 7th Yixian Ophthalmology Forum held recently.
Zhang Liang said that patients with diabetes and hypertension may suffer from retinal vein occlusion. Photo by Wang Puxuan
High-incidence chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension often involve blood vessels under the eyes. Zhang Liang, chief physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, said that patients with diabetes and high blood pressure may suffer from retinal vein occlusion, commonly known as "eye stroke", which manifests as sudden, severe, painless vision loss, and distortion and deformation of vision. , it may also lead to blindness if not treated in time.
"The early symptoms of fundus lesions in patients with diabetes and hypertension are not obvious. When symptoms such as vision loss appear, they have already caused irreversible damage to eye health. Therefore, it is very necessary for patients with diabetes and hypertension to have regular fundus examinations." Ophthalmology Department of Guangdong Provincial Medical Doctors Association said Lan Yuqing, leader of the Ophthalmology and Systemic Diseases Professional Group of the Physicians Branch and director of the Ophthalmology Department of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
In addition to common hypertension and diabetes, there are other systemic diseases that can cause eye diseases. For example, hyperthyroidism can cause eyelid retraction, widened palpebral fissures, excessive protrusion of the eyeball, deviated eye position, and even corneal ulceration. If not treated in time, it can lead to blindness. ; For example, systemic lupus erythematosus can cause dry eye, retinal vasculitis, optic neuritis, choroiditis, scleritis, etc.
Fei Wenlei, former chief physician of the Department of Ophthalmology of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and director of the Glaucoma Department and Corneal Disease Department of Guangzhou Purui Eye Hospital, said that dry eye is caused by many reasons such as environment, systemic diseases, eye localization, lifestyle, etc., among which systemic Lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, graft-versus-host disease and other systemic immune diseases can cause dry eye. Only by clarifying the cause can dry eye be effectively controlled.
Professor Fei Wenlei interpreted the "Chinese Dry Eye Expert Consensus". Photo by Wang Puxuan
It is understood that patients with dry eyes may experience dryness, burning, foreign body sensation, pinprick sensation, eye itching, photophobia, redness, blurred vision, fluctuations in vision, etc. Dry eyes have become a common ophthalmic problem among modern people.
Fei Wenlei said that there is a thin protective layer in front of the cornea - the tear film, which is divided into three layers from the outside to the inside, namely the lipid layer, the aqueous layer and the mucin layer. When tear film homeostasis is out of balance, dry eye syndrome occurs. In addition, when certain factors in the ocular surface microenvironment become diseased and cause it to be unable to maintain balance, dry eyes are also prone to occur.
"Many people think that dry eye means lack of water in the eyes. In fact, the pathogenesis of dry eye is very complex, so it is also a chronic ocular surface disease that is prone to recurrence." Fei Wenlei emphasized. (over)