The retina is a layer of tissue located at the back of the eyeball, a part inside the eye that receives light signals and transmits them to the brain.

The retina has many blood vessels. An abnormality that causes less blood flow to the retina than normal will cause retinal ischemia.

The retina is where many blood vessels gather. The retina is also the only place where we can observe the vascular system easily with the naked eye. Therefore, thanks to observing the retina during eye examination, many blood diseases can be detected so that in-depth examination can be performed later. Retinal ischemia is often a secondary condition due to a complication of another vascular disease. Among them, the most common causes of retinal ischemia are diabetes and hypertension.

Symptom

Retinal ischemia progresses slowly and silently, so there are often no obvious symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms only become apparent when retinal ischemia has become severe. Include:

  • Reduced vision,
  • Swollen eyes,
  • Rupture of blood vessels,
  • Double vision with headache.

When vision decreases, seeing two images of the same object, or unusually red eyes, people should see an eye specialist to determine whether it is retinal anemia or not.

Diabetic retinal anemia

Diabetic retinal anemia is the main cause of blindness in developed countries and is gradually becoming more common in developing countries. Diabetic retinal anemia occurs in over 90% of patients with diabetes that progresses after 10-15 years, regardless of type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

High blood sugar over a long period of time will damage the entire body’s blood vessels, manifesting more clearly in small blood vessels (in which slow wound healing is a sign of blood sugar abnormalities). Diabetic retinal ischemia goes through two stages, the first stage is microaneurysm of retinal capillaries and then neovascularization. High blood sugar damages the retinal capillaries, at which point the vascular permeability increases, causing plasma and other components to escape into the intercellular spaces, causing edema, terminal arteriole occlusion, and macular edema (microscopic stage). aneurysm). At that time, the body responds by secreting factors that stimulate the growth of new blood vessels to increase blood supply to damaged areas (neoplastic phase). However, this newly born blood vessel is fragile and easily broken.

Treatment

The retina is the organ that senses light, in which the macula is the center of the retina. Diabetes affects blood vessels, can seriously damage the retina and lead to blindness. Therefore, diabetic patients should have regular eye examinations and control retinal complications of diabetes. Patients with retinal anemia need to ensure enough blood nourishes the retina with drugs that increase retinal blood circulation and increase vessel wall durability.

Ginkgo biloba is an ancient medicinal herb used to increase blood circulation and prevent oxidation. Ginkgo helps improve blood circulation, stimulates and increases cerebral circulation (including microcirculation in small capillaries); protects against cell damage; Prevents many effects of thrombolytic agents. Ginkgo biloba helps blood vessels dilate, causing more blood to circulate, lowering blood pressure in capillaries, helping to deliver large amounts of oxygen and nutrients to damaged brain areas. Today, ginkgo is widely used in the treatment of diseases related to blood circulation insufficiency such as dementia, vestibular syndrome, depression, anxiety, limb thrombophlebitis, and Raynaud’s syndrome.

To increase the treatment effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba, people often combine Ginkgo biloba with another medicinal herb that is also very good for blood circulation, which is Poscias fruticosa. Dubbed the poor man’s Ginseng, Polyscias fruticosa contains many saponins, vitamins B1, B2, B6, C and amino acids necessary for the body like Ginseng. Research shows that Polyscias fruticosa increases the body’s flexibility. Polyscias fruticosa is used to treat fatigue, stress, anemia, help increase energy and fight stress.

The combination of Ginkgo Biloba and Polyscias fruticosa is an effective combination in the treatment of retinal anemia. This formula helps increase blood circulation to the damaged retina, lowers blood pressure in capillaries, increases vascular wall strength, and reduces the risk of capillary blood vessel rupture. These effects help reduce degeneration and complications that cause blindness in patients with retinal anemia. On the market there are many products with formulas including Polyscias fruticosa and Ginkgo biloba. However, products that combine Polyscias fruticosa and Ginkgo biloba at low levels are usually not used to treat retinal anemia and the instruction sheet does not have this indication. Only medicines with high levels of Polyscias fruticosa and Ginkgo biloba can be used for treatment. OP.BRAIN F brain nourishing tablets are a medicine with a combined content of up to 300mg of Polyscias fruticosa extract and 100mg of Ginkgo biloba extract, a suitable medicine for the treatment of retinal anemia.