Retinopathy of prematurity (R.O.P.) occurs in premature babies when scar tissue and abnormal blood vessels grow over the baby's retina. It's difficult to determine if R.O.P. will permanently affect vision. For many, R.O.P. goes away in time leaving vision unimpaired.

from Dr. Marci Wolfe) Retinopathy means damage to the retina or back of the eye, which is where the nervous tissue that carries vision signals to the brain is. ROP is caused by the response of an immature and underdeveloped retinal vascular system in a premature infant to oxygen therapy and other physiologic changes. So the blood vessels in the retina responded to those changes in a preemie in a way that caused damage. That damage creates a vision problem.

Premature babies (often called "preemies") are babies who are born before the 37th post-conceptional week. Normal (full-term) babies are born between the 38th and 42nd week. Often a preemie's age is defined by the number of post-conceptional weeks until the day the baby actually should have been born (which is in the 40th week of normal gestation).

Diabetic retinopathy is a weakening or a swelling of the tiny blood vessels in the retina of the eye, which can result in blood leakage, the growth of new blood vessels, as well as other changes. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to blindness. Once damage has occurred, it is usually permanent, so it is important to control your diabetes as much as possible to reduce the risk of developing retinopathy.

Many factors increase the risk of premature delivery. Some of them are elements within the mother's lifestyle during pregnancy, such as smoking, alcohol use and eating poorly. However, medical problems and pregnancy complications can also lead to premature delivery. Having had a previous preemie also increases the risk for getting a second premature delivery. Women under age 19 or over 35 are also at increased risk for getting a premature baby.

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition in which high blood sugar causes retinal blood vessels to swell and leak blood.

Fluctuating blood sugar levels lead to an increased risk of this disease, as does long-term diabetes. Most people don't develop diabetic retinopathy until they've had diabetes for at least 10 years.

Keeping your blood sugar at an even level can help prevent diabetic retinopathy. If you have high blood pressure, keeping that under control is helpful as well. Even controlled diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, so you should have your eyes examined once a year; that way, your doctor can begin treating any retinal damage as soon as possible.

In the early stages of diabetic retinopathy, you might have no symptoms at all, or you might have blurred vision. In the later stages, you develop cloudy vision, blind spots or floaters.

Diabetic retinopathy is classified as either nonproliferative (background) or proliferative. Nonproliferative retinopathy is the early stage, where small retinal blood vessels break and leak. In proliferative retinopathy, new blood vessels grow abnormally within the retina. This new growth can cause scarring or retinal detachment, which can lead to vision loss. The new blood vessels may also grow or bleed into the vitreous humor, the transparent gel filling the eyeball in front of the retina.

No. Early treatment can slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but is not likely to reverse any vision loss.

It is a common complication of diabetes that occurs when tiny blood vessels in the retina are damaged by the load of sugar they are carrying. Your vision may become blurred and night vision impaired. All people with diabetes should have an exam with dilated pupils at least once a year. Laser surgery can help shrink abnormal vessels in the early stages of the disease.

from Dr. Lawrence Epple) Well, the cause of cerebral palsy cannot always be determined. We do know that it is related to damage that happens to the brain before birth, during the birthing process or shortly after birth. We also know that underdeveloped brains are more vulnerable to that damage. Some babies that have a brain bleed do end up with cerebral palsy. Sometimes we will see cerebral palsy in cases where there were complications in the pregnancy or delivery.

Most diabetics get retinopathy sooner or later and it does get worse with time. Well controlled diabetics are better off than those not well controlled.

The best treatment is to keep your diabetes under control; blood pressure control is also helpful. Your doctor may decide on laser photocoagulation to seal leaking blood vessels and destroy new blood vessel growth. If blood gets into the vitreous humor, your doctor might want to perform a procedure called a vitrectomy. The patented electrolyte balance of TheraTears precisely matches the human tear film for dry eye relief. Save $1.