Glucotrol XL and Diabetic Retinal Angiopathy
Diabetic Retinal Angiopathy is one of the chronic complications of diabetes which manifests itself in the build-up of blood clots in the vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) which leads to occlusion and blocking the flow of blood. Diabetic retinal angiopathy is an initial complication which later leads to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. And if glucose levels are uncontrolled for a long time, it can further lead to complete blindness. Diabetes sufferers usually develop microangiopathy with thickening of capillaries in the retina. Retinal damage brought about by diabetic retinal microangiopathy is known to be one of the clear indicators of impaired vision and, possibly, even a loss of vision.
The first and foremost line of treatment for diabetic retinal angiopathy, as well as all the other kinds of angiopathy, is diabetes compensation - bringing your carbohydrate metabolism to norm with a decrease in the blood glucose levels and elimination of all the metabolic disorders. It is crucial to take measures to restore the blood flow. Usually as soon as any type of angiopathy is diagnosed, a patient is prescribed anticoagulant agents to stop blood from clotting and special medicines improving microcirculation and rheological properties of the blood.
A course of diabetes treatment by means of Glucotrol XL combined with strict dieting and exercises improves microcirculation, blood coagulation and fibrinolysis and normalizes muscular blood flow. Thus, Glucotrol XL is acknowledged to have a beneficial impact on the clinical course of diabetes as it inhibits the development of diabetic microangiopathy. It is based on the clinic evidence showing a decrease in the thickness of the capillary basement membrane which is regarded as a reliable marker of diabetic microangiopathy. Therefore, patients with diabetes type 2 are often prescribed Glucotrol XL both as part of diabetic therapy and as a therapeutic agent preventing the natural progression of microangiopathy in diabetes sufferers.
At the same time it is worth mentioning that Glucotrol XL is efficient in preventing diabetic retinal angiopathy only in combination with other strategies of controlling the disease, which include controlling blood sugar, controlling high blood pressure, regular exercise, abstaining from smoking and alcohol, monitoring protein levels in the urine, and regular eye exams.