Human vitreous in proliferative diabetic retinopathy: Characterization and translational implications

Publication date: Available online 2 April 2019Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye ResearchAuthor(s): Imtiaz M. Nawaz, Sara Rezzola, Anna Cancarini, Andrea Russo, Ciro Costagliola, Francesco Semeraro, Marco PrestaAbstractDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of visual impairment in the working-age population. DR is a progressive eye disease caused by long-term accumulation of hyperglycaemia-mediated pathological alterations in the retina of diabetic patients. DR begins with asymptomatic retinal abnormalities and may progress to advanced-stage proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), characterized by neovascularization or preretinal/vitreous haemorrhages. The vitreous, a transparent gel that fills the posterior cavity of the eye, plays a vital role in maintaining ocular function. Structural and molecular alterations of the vitreous, observed during DR progression, are consequences of metabolic and functional modifications of the retinal tissue. Thus, vitreal alterations reflect the pathological events occurring at the vitreoretinal interface. These events are caused by hypoxic, oxidative, inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and leukostatic conditions that occur during diabetes. Conversely, PDR vitreous can exert pathological effects on the diabetic retina, resulting in activation of a vicious cycle that contributes to disease progression. In this review, we recapitulate the major pathological features of DR/PDR, and focus on the structural and molecular changes ...
Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research