What causes cotton wool spots in diabetic retinopathy?
Cotton wool spots are an abnormal finding on funduscopic exam of the retina of the eye. They appear as fluffy white patches on the retina. They are caused by damage to nerve fibers and are a result of accumulations of axoplasmic material within the nerve fiber layer.
Can cotton wool spots cause blindness?
Cotton-wool spots rarely cause vision loss unless they involve the fovea and typically resolve within 6–12 weeks,94 though they may last longer in diabetics. A cotton-wool spot is hypothesized to develop secondary to obstruction of a retinal arteriole with resultant ischemia.
What is the first visible lesion of patients with diabetic retinopathy?
Microaneurysms are the first features of human diabetic retinopathy that can be detected with common clinical techniques. These are found, most often, in photographic field 2 (that is, an area occupying 30 degrees of the ocular fundus centered on the middle of the macula).
Diabetic Retinopathy – Features of Diabetes : Cotton Wool Spots Cotton-wool spots are greyish-white patches of discoloration in the nerve fibre layer which have indistinct (fluffy) edges. They are the result of local ischaemia which leads to disruption of axoplasmic flow. Cotton-wool spots are common and one or two do not require intervention.
Is it normal to have cotton wool in your eye?
Disease. In otherwise healthy patients, the observance of a cotton wool spot (CWS) is not considered normal. A single cotton wool spot in one eye can be the earliest ophthalmoscopic finding in diabetic or hypertensive retinopathy. In a series of patients who had cotton-wool spots and no known medical history, diastolic blood pressure equal to…
What does it mean if you have cotton wool spots?
The presence of more than eight cotton-wool spots has been associated with a higher risk of the more severe form of diabetic retinopathy known as proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Cotton-wool spots are also a common sign of infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
What causes cotton wool spots in the brain?
Cotton-wool spots are greyish-white patches of discoloration in the nerve fibre layer which have indistinct (fluffy) edges. They are the result of local ischaemia which leads to disruption of axoplasmic flow. Cotton-wool spots are common and one or two do not require intervention.