The progress in understanding and treatment of diabetic retinopathy

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2015 Source:Progress in Retinal and Eye Research Author(s): Alan W. Stitt, Tim M. Curtis, Mei Chen, Reinhold J. Medina, Gareth J. McKay, Alicia Jenkins, Thomas A. Gardiner, Timothy J. Lyons, Hans-Peter Hammes, Rafael Simó, Noemi Lois In most countries, diabetic retinopathy is the most frequently occurring complication of diabetes mellitus and remains a leading cause of vision loss globally. Its etiology and pathology have been extensively studied for half a century, yet there are disappointingly few therapeutic options. Although some new treatments have been introduced for diabetic macular edema (DME) (e.g. intravitreal vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors ('anti-VEGFs') and new steroids), up to 50% of patients fail to respond. Furthermore, for people with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), laser photocoagulation remains a mainstay therapy, even though it is inherently a destructive procedure. This review summarizes the clinical features of diabetic retinopathy and its risk factors. It describes details of retinal pathology and the cell culture approaches and animal models that are used to mimic its key components, advance understanding of its pathogenesis, and enable identification of new therapeutic targets. We emphasise that although there have been significant advances, there is still a pressing need for a better understanding basic mechanisms to enable development of reliable and robu...
Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research