Diabetes
steals the sight of 12,000 to 24,000 people each year and is responsible for 8
percent of blindness in the United States, making it the leading cause of new
blindness in people ages 20 to 74, according to the American Diabetes Association.
One problem even reflects in its
name the close relationship between diabetes and the eyes: diabetic retinopathy, a catchall term that refers to
diabetes-related damage to the retina.
