Estrategia para la prevención de la retinopatía diabética en la atención primaria de salud / A Strategy for the Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy in Primary Healthcare

Introducción: La retinopatía diabética puede prevenirse con el óptimo control de la diabetes mellitus; sin embargo, la constante llegada de pacientes con diagnóstico de retinopatía diabética avanzada a los centros oftalmológicos apunta a la insuficiente prevención primaria de esta enfermedad. Objetivo: Proponer herramientas prácticas vinculadas a los principales factores de riesgo que pueden ser controlados o modificados en pacientes diabéticos para lograr una prevención primaria de la retinopatía diabética más efectiva. Métodos: Se consultaron artículos referentes a la prevención de la retinopatía diabética en la atención primaria de salud durante los meses de noviembre-diciembre de 2020 y enero de 2021; publicados en diversas revistas e indexados en las bases de datos PubMed, SciELO, Medscape; otros textos afines, páginas web y blogs del año 2010 en adelante. Las sintaxis empleadas fueron retinopatía diabética, prevalencia y prevención de retinopatía diabética, prevención primaria, complicaciones oculares de la diabetes mellitus y factores de riesgo de la retinopatía diabética. Conclusiones: La adición de nuevas estrategias al control o modificación de los principales factores de riesgo en los pacientes diabéticos constituye una alternativa para perfeccionar la prevención primaria de la retinopatía diabética(AU)

Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy can be prevented with the optimal control of diabetes mellitus; however, the constant arrival of patients with a diagnosis of advanced diabetic retinopathy to ophthalmologic centers points to insufficient primary prevention of this disease. Objective: To propose practical tools related to the main risk factors that can be controlled or modified in diabetic patients to achieve a more effective primary prevention of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: Articles concerning the prevention of diabetic retinopathy in primary healthcare were consulted, covering the months of November-December 2020 and January 2021, published in various journals and indexed in the PubMed, SciELO and Medscape databases; together with other related texts, websites and blogs from 2010 onwards. The used syntaxes were retinopatía diabética [diabetic retinopathy], prevalencia y prevención de retinopatía diabética [prevalence and prevention of diabetic retinopathy], prevención primaria [primary prevention], complicaciones oculares de la diabetes mellitus [ocular complications of diabetes mellitus] and factores de riesgo de la retinopatía diabética [risk factors for diabetic retinopathy]. Conclusions: The addition of new strategies to the control or modification of the main risk factors in diabetic patients is an alternative to perfect primary prevention of diabetic retinopathy(AU)

Preventable risk factors for type 2 diabetes can be detected using noninvasive spontaneous electroretinogram signals.

Given the ever-increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, the pressure on global healthcare is expected to be colossal, especially in terms of blindness. Electroretinogram (ERG) has long been perceived as a first-use technique for diagnosing eye diseases, and some studies suggested its use for preventable risk factors of type 2 diabetes and thereby diabetic retinopathy (DR). Here, we show that in a non-evoked mode, ERG signals contain spontaneous oscillations that predict disease cases in rodent models of obesity and in people with overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome but not yet diabetes, using one single random forest-based model. Classification performance was both internally and externally validated, and correlation analysis showed that the spontaneous oscillations of the non-evoked ERG are altered before oscillatory potentials, which are the current gold-standard for early DR. Principal component and discriminant analysis suggested that the slow frequency (0.4-0.7 Hz) components are the main discriminators for our predictive model. In addition, we established that the optimal conditions to record these informative signals, are 5-minute duration recordings under daylight conditions, using any ERG sensors, including ones working with portative, non-mydriatic devices. Our study provides an early warning system with promising applications for prevention, monitoring and even the development of new therapies against type 2 diabetes.

Prevención primaria de la retinopatía diabética: una necesidad social actual / Primary Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy: a Current Social Need

Las tendencias actuales en el comportamiento de la sociedad contribuyen al aumento de las personas que desarrollan retinopatía diabética, muchas de las cuales son diagnosticadas en estadios avanzados de la enfermedad cuando las posibilidades de recuperación visual son escasas. Se elaboró este ensayo con el propósito de reflexionar sobre algunos de los referentes que brindan la ciencia y la tecnología para lograr, mediante las acciones médicosociales, mayor eficacia en la prevención primaria de la retinopatía diabética. Se tuvo en cuenta el protagonismo de la atención primaria de salud en la integración de los entes sociales para el control de los factores de riesgo en el paciente diabético(AU)

Current trends in societal behavior contribute to an increase in the number of people who develop diabetic retinopathy, many of whom are diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease when the chances of visual recovery are slim. This essay was elaborated with the purpose of reflecting on some of the references provided by science and technology to achieve, through medical-social actions, greater efficacy in the primary prevention of diabetic retinopathy. The role of primary health care in the integration of social entities for the control of risk factors in diabetic patients was taken into account(AU)

Understanding Metabolic Memory: A Tale of Two Studies.

The results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) have given rise to much encouragement in the battle to stave off the complications of type 1 diabetes, showing dramatic declines in the development of severe retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy in those treated intensively compared with conventional therapy. Particularly encouraging has been the continuing difference between the two groups despite both having similar HbA1c (∼8%) since the end of DCCT, when 96% of participants entered the observational Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study. This continuing relative benefit has been termed "metabolic memory," which implies altered metabolic regulation. Based on evidence from both the Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) prospective cohort study of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes and DCCT/EDIC, we show that the metabolic memory effect can be largely explained by lower cumulative glycemic exposure in the intensive therapy group, and, on average, the development of complications increases with greater glycemic exposure, irrespective of whether this results from a high exposure for a short time or a lower exposure for a longer time. Thus, there is no need for a concept like "metabolic memory" to explain these observations. Potential mechanisms explaining the cumulative glycemic effect are also briefly discussed.

δ Opioid Receptor Agonism Preserves the Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cell Tight Junctions and Ameliorates the Retinopathy in Experimental Diabetes.

Purpose: Outer blood retinal barrier breakdown is a neglected feature of diabetic retinopathy (DR). We demonstrated that the agonism of the δ opioid receptor (DOR) by epicatechin preserves the tight junction proteins in ARPE-19 cells under diabetic conditions. Presently, we aimed to evaluate the possible role of the DOR on the maintenance of tight junction of RPE layer and on the early markers of experimental DR. Methods: DR markers and external retinal tight junction proteins were evaluated in CL57B diabetic mice submitted to intravitreous injection of short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-DOR (108 transducing units [TU]/mL) treated or not with DOR agonist (0.05 g/animal/d of epicatechin in drinking water) for 16 weeks. The presence of DOR in human retina from postmortem eyes from diabetic and nondiabetic donors were also performed. Results: DOR is present in RPE layer and in neuro retina. The treatment with DOR agonist prevented the upregulation of the early markers of retinopathy (glial fibrillary acidic protein, VEGF) and the downregulation of pigment epithelium-derived factor, occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens-1 tight junction expressions. The silencing of DOR in retina of diabetic mice partially abolished the protective effects of epicatechin. In human retina specimens, DOR is present throughout the retina, similarly in nondiabetic and diabetic donors. Conclusions: This set of experiments strongly indicates that the DOR agonism preserves RPE tight junctions and reduces the early markers of retinopathy in model of diabetes. These novel findings designate DOR as a potential therapeutic tool to treat DR with preservation of the RPE tight junction proteins.

Pharmacological blockade of the P2X7 receptor reverses retinal damage in a rat model of type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: Retinopathy is a leading cause of vision impairment in diabetes. Its pathogenesis involves inflammation, pathological angiogenesis, neuronal and glial dysfunction. The purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) has a leading role in inflammation and angiogenesis. Potent and selective P2X7R blockers have been synthesized and tested in Phase I/II clinical studies. We hypothesize that P2X7R blockade will ameliorate diabetes-related pathological retinal changes. METHODS: Streptozotocin (STZ)-treated rats were intraperitoneally inoculated with either of two small molecule P2X7R receptor inhibitors, A740003 and AZ10606120, and after blood glucose levels increased to above 400 mg/dL, retinae were analyzed for P2X7R expression, vascular permeability, VEGF, and IL-6 expression. RESULTS: STZ administration caused a near fourfold increase in blood glucose, a large increase in retinal microvasculature permeability, as well as in retinal P2X7R, VEGF, and IL-6 expression. P2X7R blockade fully reversed retinal vascular permeability increase, VEGF accumulation, and IL-6 expression, with no effect on blood glucose. CONCLUSION: P2X7R blockade might be promising strategy for the treatment of microvascular changes observed in the early phases of diabetic retinopathy.

Conhecimento dos pacientes diabéticos usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde acerca da retinopatia diabética / Knowledge of diabetic patients users of the Health Unic System about diabetic retinopathy

Resumo Objetivo: Avaliar o nível de conhecimento dos pacientes diabéticos, atendidos no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) na cidade de Boa Vista/Roraima, acerca da Retinopatia Diabética (RD). Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, descritivo, de caráter quantitativo, realizado através da aplicação de um questionário semi-estruturado para 150 indivíduos diabéticos, usuários do SUS, da cidade de Boa Vista - RR, durante o ano de 2017. As análises estatísticas foram realizadas utilizando os programas Microsoft Excel e EpiInfo 7®, fixando-se o nível de 5% para a rejeição da hipótese de nulidade. Resultados: Do total amostral pesquisado,76,7% dos indivíduos não possuía nenhum conhecimento sobre a RD, 19,3% tinha algum tipo de conhecimento, mas não possuía a patologia, 2,7% conhecia, possuía a RD e fazia tratamento e 1,3% conhecia, possuía a RD e não se tratava. Quanto a orientação, 40,6% dos participantes nunca recebeu nenhuma informação sobre o risco de perda da visão. Acerca do tipo de Diabetes, 44,7% dos participantes não sabia que tipo possuía, 42% relatou ter DM 2 e 13,3% DM1. Sobre o controle da glicose, 59,4% não conseguia mantê-lo. Foi evidenciada associação entre o controle da glicose e o conhecimento sobre RD, entre o tempo de instalação da DM e o conhecimento sobre RD e entre ter consultado um oftalmologista e conhecer sobre a RD. Conclusão: O nível de conhecimento sobre a RD é muito baixo, fator preocupante por tratar-se de uma das complicações mais importantes do Diabetes. Percebe-se que o sistema de saúde não está sendo eficiente como facilitador deste conhecimento.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the level of knowledge of diabetic patients treated at the Unified Health System (SUS - Sistema Único de Saúde) in the city of Boa Vista / Roraima, about Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study conducted through the application of a semi-structured questionnaire for 150 diabetic individuals, SUS users, from the city of Boa Vista - RR, during the year 2017. Statistical analyzes were performed using the Microsoft Excel and EpiInfo 7® programs, setting the 5% level for the rejection of the null hypothesis. Results: Of the total sample, 76.7% of the individuals did not have any knowledge about DR, 19.3% had some type of knowledge, but did not have the pathology, 2.7% knew, had DR and was receiving treatment, 1,3% knew, had DR and was not receiving treatment. About orientation, 40.6% of the participants never received any information about the risk of vision loss. About the type of Diabetes, 44.7% of the participants did not know what type they had, 42% reported having DM 2 and 13.3% DM1. On glucose control, 59.4% could not maintain it. It was evidenced an association between glucose control and DR knowledge, between the time of DM installation and knowledge about DR, and between having consulted an ophthalmologist and knowing about DR. Conclusion: The level of knowledge about DR is very low, a worrying factor because it is one of the most important complications of diabetes. It is observed that the health system is not being efficient as facilitator of this knowledge.

Omega-3 from Flaxseed Oil Protects Obese Mice Against Diabetic Retinopathy Through GPR120 Receptor.

The chronic and low-grade inflammation induced by obesity seem to be the "first hit" to retinopathy associated to diabetes type 2. Herein, we hypothesized that omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil enriched diet disrupt the pro-inflammatory status in the retina, protecting against retinopathy development. For eight weeks under a high-fat diet (HF), several physiological parameters were monitored to follow the metabolic homeostasis disruption. After this period, mice were treated with a HF substituted in part of lard by flaxseed oil (FS) for another eight weeks. Food behavior, weight gain, glucose and insulin sensitivity, electroretinography, RT-qPCR and western blots were carried out. The HF was able to induce a pro-inflammatory background in the retina, changing IL1ß and TNFα. VEGF, a master piece of retinopathy, had early onset increased also induced by HF. The FS-diet was able to decrease inflammation and retinopathy and improved retinal electro stimuli compared to HF group. GPR120 and GPR40 (G Protein-Coupled Receptors 120 and 40), an omega-3 fatty acid receptors, were detected in the retina for the first time. FS-diet modulated the gene expression and protein content of these receptors. Thus, unsaturated fatty acids protect the retina from diabetes type 2 mice model from disease progression.

Estudio sobre la prevención de la discapacidad visual en pacientes diabéticos del municipio Playa / Study on the prevention of visual disability in diabetic patients from Playa municipality

Objetivo: determinar el comportamiento de la discapacidad visual por retinopatía diabética en dos áreas de salud del municipio Playa. Métodos: se realizó una investigación exploratoria, observacional y descriptiva, en la que se practicó un examen oftalmológico a los diabéticos, donde se evaluó por especialistas de retina la presencia de lesiones en el fondo de ojo y su asociación con otras afecciones oftalmológicas. Resultados: las dos áreas de salud presentaron características demográficas y de la enfermedad diabética similares. Las formas no proliferativas de los dos grupos se presentaron en el 8,5 y 4,8 por ciento, no así la forma proliferativa, que fue de 2 y 2,7 por ciento. La maculopatía leve fue más frecuente que la severa en los dos grupos. La prevalencia de algún grado de retinopatía y de maculopatía fue de 13,1 y 10,6 por ciento, respectivamente. El mayor porcentaje de pacientes en los dos grupos de estudio no había sido examinado o había transcurrido más de un año de haberse realizado un fondo de ojo. Se encontró un número elevado de ojos de pacientes con catarata evidente (31,2 y 26,5 por ciento. La prevalencia de baja visión (10,9 y 11 por ciento) y de ceguera (2,9 y 2,7 por ciento) fue similar en los dos grupos, pero sus causas pueden ser reversibles, prevenibles y tratables. Conclusiones: a pesar de que la muestra fue pequeña y la prevalencia de retinopatía y/o maculopatía fue baja, se presentaron pacientes con discapacidad visual prevenible y tratable(AU)

Objective: to determine the situation of visual disability caused by diabetic retinopathy in two health areas of Playa municipality. Methods: a descriptive, observational and exploratory research study was conducted where eye exam was performed in diabetic patients to evaluate the presence of fundus oculi lesions and their association with other ophthalmological diseases. Results: it was found that the two health areas showed similar demographic characteristics and diabetic disease features. Non-proliferative forms of the two groups occurred in 8.5 and 4.8 percent whereas the proliferative form was seen in 2 percent and 2.7 percent. Mild maculopathy was more common than the severe one in the two groups of patients. The prevalence of retinopathy and maculopathy was 13.1 and 10.6 percent, respectively. The highest percentage of patients in the two study groups had not been examined or their fundus oculi test had been performed over a year ago. There was a high number of patients with evident cataract (31.2 and 26.5 percent). The prevalence rates of low vision (10.9 and 11 percent) and of blindness (2.9 and 2.7 percent) were almost the same in the two groups; however it should be borne in mind that their causes can be reversible, preventable and treatable. Conclusions: despite the small sample size and the low prevalence of retinopathy and/or maculopathy, there were patients with preventable and treatable vision(AU)

Estudio sobre la prevención de la discapacidad visual en pacientes diabéticos del municipio Playa / Study on the prevention of visual disability in diabetic patients from Playa municipality

Objetivo: determinar el comportamiento de la discapacidad visual por retinopatía diabética en dos áreas de salud del municipio Playa. Métodos: se realizó una investigación exploratoria, observacional y descriptiva, en la que se practicó un examen oftalmológico a los diabéticos, donde se evaluó por especialistas de retina la presencia de lesiones en el fondo de ojo y su asociación con otras afecciones oftalmológicas. Resultados: las dos áreas de salud presentaron características demográficas y de la enfermedad diabética similares. Las formas no proliferativas de los dos grupos se presentaron en el 8,5 y 4,8 por ciento, no así la forma proliferativa, que fue de 2 y 2,7 por ciento. La maculopatía leve fue más frecuente que la severa en los dos grupos. La prevalencia de algún grado de retinopatía y de maculopatía fue de 13,1 y 10,6 por ciento, respectivamente. El mayor porcentaje de pacientes en los dos grupos de estudio no había sido examinado o había transcurrido más de un año de haberse realizado un fondo de ojo. Se encontró un número elevado de ojos de pacientes con catarata evidente (31,2 y 26,5 por ciento. La prevalencia de baja visión (10,9 y 11 por ciento) y de ceguera (2,9 y 2,7 por ciento) fue similar en los dos grupos, pero sus causas pueden ser reversibles, prevenibles y tratables. Conclusiones: a pesar de que la muestra fue pequeña y la prevalencia de retinopatía y/o maculopatía fue baja, se presentaron pacientes con discapacidad visual prevenible y tratable(AU)

Objective: to determine the situation of visual disability caused by diabetic retinopathy in two health areas of Playa municipality. Methods: a descriptive, observational and exploratory research study was conducted where eye exam was performed in diabetic patients to evaluate the presence of fundus oculi lesions and their association with other ophthalmological diseases. Results: it was found that the two health areas showed similar demographic characteristics and diabetic disease features. Non-proliferative forms of the two groups occurred in 8.5 and 4.8 percent whereas the proliferative form was seen in 2 percent and 2.7 percent. Mild maculopathy was more common than the severe one in the two groups of patients. The prevalence of retinopathy and maculopathy was 13.1 and 10.6 percent, respectively. The highest percentage of patients in the two study groups had not been examined or their fundus oculi test had been performed over a year ago. There was a high number of patients with evident cataract (31.2 and 26.5 percent). The prevalence rates of low vision (10.9 and 11 percent) and of blindness (2.9 and 2.7 percent) were almost the same in the two groups; however it should be borne in mind that their causes can be reversible, preventable and treatable. Conclusions: despite the small sample size and the low prevalence of retinopathy and/or maculopathy, there were patients with preventable and treatable vision(AU)

Therapeutic targeting of diabetic retinal neuropathy as a strategy in preventing diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetes causes a panretinal neurodegeneration herein termed diabetic retinal neuropathy, which manifests in the retina early and progresses throughout the disease. Clinical manifestations include changes in the ERG, perimetry, dark adaptation, contrast sensitivity and colour vision which correlate with laboratory findings of thinning of the retinal neuronal layers, increased apoptosis in neurons and activation of glial cells. Possible mechanisms include oxidative stress, neuronal AGE accumulation, altered balance of neurotrophic factors and loss of mitohormesis. Retinal neural damage precedes and is a biologically plausible cause of retinal vasculopathy later in diabetes, and this review suggests that strategies to target it directly could prevent diabetes induced blindness. The efficacy of fenofibrate in reducing retinopathy progression provides a possible proof of concept for this approach. Strategies which may target diabetic retinal neuropathy include reducing retinal metabolic demand, improving mitochondrial function with AMPK and Sirt1 activators or providing neurotrophic support with neurotrophic supplementation.

Enriched Environment Protects the Optic Nerve from Early Diabetes-Induced Damage in Adult Rats.

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of reduced visual acuity and acquired blindness. Axoglial alterations of the distal (close to the chiasm) optic nerve (ON) could be the first structural change of the visual pathway in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. We analyzed the effect of environmental enrichment on axoglial alterations of the ON provoked by experimental diabetes. For this purpose, three days after vehicle or STZ injection, animals were housed in enriched environment (EE) or remained in a standard environment (SE) for 6 weeks. Anterograde transport, retinal morphology, optic nerve axons (toluidine blue staining and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy immunoreactivity), microglia/macrophages (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1) immunoreactivity), astrocyte reactivity (glial fibrillary acid protein-immunostaining), myelin (myelin basic protein immunoreactivity), ultrastructure, and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were assessed in non-diabetic and diabetic animals housed in SE or EE. No differences in retinal morphology or retinal ganglion cell number were observed among groups. EE housing which did not affect the STZ-induced weight loss and hyperglycemia, prevented a decrease in the anterograde transport from the retina to the superior colliculus, ON axon number, and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy immunoreactivity. Moreover, EE housing prevented an increase in Iba-1 immunoreactivity, and astrocyte reactivity, as well as ultrastructural myelin alterations in the ON distal portion at early stages of diabetes. In addition, EE housing avoided a decrease in BDNF levels induced by experimental diabetes. These results suggest that EE induced neuroprotection in the diabetic visual pathway.

Prevención de ceguera por retinopatía diabética: ¿dónde estamos? / Prevention of blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy in Cuba, how far have we gone?

La diabetes es una de las cuatro enfermedades no transmisibles prioritarias identificadas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, junto con la enfermedad cardiovascular, el cáncer y la enfermedad respiratoria crónica. En este siglo XXI se habla de una epidemia global de diabetes, fenómeno relacionado particularmente con la diabetes mellitus tipo II y que está teniendo lugar tanto en países desarrollados como en aquellos en vías de desarrollo. Cuba se une desde 1999 a la iniciativa Visión 2020 y desarrolla desde la propia fecha un plan de prevención de ceguera y baja visión. Hoy, donde la prevalencia de diabetes aumenta, asociada al aumento de la esperanza de vida y a los cambios en el estilo de vida, los oftalmólogos cubanos trabajamos en la prevención de la ceguera por retinopatía diabética. En esta revisión nos proponemos analizar dónde estamos en relación con la Guía práctica clínica de retinopatía diabética para LatinoamÚrica, publicada en el 2011(AU)

Diabetes is one of the four prioritized non-communicable illnesses identified by the World Health Organization, along with the cardiovascular illnesses, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. The 21st century witnesses a global diabetes epidemics a phenomenon closely related to type II diabetes mellitus and taking place in both developed and developing countries. Since 1999, Cuba joined the Vision 2020 initiative and has developed a preventive program to prevent blindness and low vision. As prevalence of diabetes increases today, associated to higher life expectancy and changes in lifestyles, the Cuban ophthalmologists are working in the prevention of blindness from diabetic retinopathy. In this review we set out to analyze how far we have advanced regarding the implementation of the practical clinical guideline for diabetic retinopathy for Latin America, published in 2011(AU)

Prevención de ceguera por retinopatía diabética: ¿dónde estamos? / Prevention of blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy in Cuba, how far have we gone?

La diabetes es una de las cuatro enfermedades no transmisibles prioritarias identificadas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud, junto con la enfermedad cardiovascular, el cáncer y la enfermedad respiratoria crónica. En este siglo XXI se habla de una epidemia global de diabetes, fenómeno relacionado particularmente con la diabetes mellitus tipo II y que está teniendo lugar tanto en países desarrollados como en aquellos en vías de desarrollo. Cuba se une desde 1999 a la iniciativa Visión 2020 y desarrolla desde la propia fecha un plan de prevención de ceguera y baja visión. Hoy, donde la prevalencia de diabetes aumenta, asociada al aumento de la esperanza de vida y a los cambios en el estilo de vida, los oftalmólogos cubanos trabajamos en la prevención de la ceguera por retinopatía diabética. En esta revisión nos proponemos analizar dónde estamos en relación con la Guía práctica clínica de retinopatía diabética para Latinoamérica, publicada en el 2011(AU)

Diabetes is one of the four prioritized non-communicable illnesses identified by the World Health Organization, along with the cardiovascular illnesses, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. The 21st century witnesses a global diabetes epidemics a phenomenon closely related to type II diabetes mellitus and taking place in both developed and developing countries. Since 1999, Cuba joined the Vision 2020 initiative and has developed a preventive program to prevent blindness and low vision. As prevalence of diabetes increases today, associated to higher life expectancy and changes in lifestyles, the Cuban ophthalmologists are working in the prevention of blindness from diabetic retinopathy. In this review we set out to analyze how far we have advanced regarding the implementation of the practical clinical guideline for diabetic retinopathy for Latin America, published in 2011(AU)