Abstract
Diabetic papillopathy has been characterized as a syndrome in which predominantly young, insulin-dependent diabetics develop transient edema of the optic disc with minimal impairment of the function of the optic nerves. In this study, four patients with long-standing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and acute disc swelling in one or both eyes were evaluated. The most unusual finding in these cases was that three had proliferative retinopathy either at the time the disc edema was discovered or very shortly afterwards. The fourth patient also developed this condition subsequently. It is important to be aware of diabetic papillopathy and to recognize the condition early enough so that the patient may be spared unnecessarily extensive neurological evaluations and invasive procedures. Patients with diabetic papillopathy should be closely observed so that the presence or development of proliferative retinopathy may be established.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Appen RE, Chandra SR, Klein R, Myers FL (1980) Diabetic papillopathy. Am J Ophthalmol 90: 203–209
Barr CC, Glaser JS, Blankenship G (1980) Acute disc swelling in juvenile diabetes. Arch Ophthalmol 98: 2185–2192
Cogan DG, Toussaint D, Kuwabara T (1961) Retinal vascular patterns. IV. Diabetic retinopathy. Arch Ophthalmol 66: 366–378
Freund M, Carmon A, Cohen AM (1965) Papilledema and papillitis in diabetes. A report of two cases. Am J Ophthalmol 60: 18–20
Hayreh SS, Zahoruk RM (1981) Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. VI. In juvenile diabetics. Ophthalmologica 182: 13–28
Lubow M, Makley T (1971) Pseudopapilledema of juvenile diabetes mellitus. Arch Ophthalmol 85: 417–422
Pavan PR, Aiello LM, Wafai MZ, Briones JC, Sebestyen JG, Bradbury MJ (1980) Optic disc edema in juvenile-onset diabetes. Arch Ophthalmol 98: 2193–2195
Scott DJ, Dollery CT, Hill DW, Hodge JV, Fraser R (1963) Fluorescein studies on the retinal circulation in diabetes. Br J Ophthalmol 47: 588–589
Toussaint D, Verougstraete C (1981) Papillopathies oedemateuses chez le diabetique. Bull Soc Belge Ophthalmol 192: 53–64
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stransky, T.J. Diabetic papillopathy and proliferative retinopathy. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 224, 46–50 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02144133
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02144133