Diabetic retinopathy: a review

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Diabetic retinopathy is a progressive disease elicited by chronic exposure to high blood glucose, e.g., hyperglycemia and is generally recognized as a vascular disease like other diabetes‐related diseases. Although the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy has not been clearly elucidated, numerous drugs have been developed based on the current understanding of the complicated and intricate biochemical and pathophysiological aspects of the disease. Current therapy for diabetic retinopathy includes laser photocoagulation, surgery, and metabolic control. Future therapies for diabetic retinopathy are based on the pathophysiology of the disease, such as anti‐VEGF, anti‐angiogenesis, and anti‐inflammatory and anti‐extracellular matrix pathways. Several clinical trials are ongoing for diabetic macular edema using drug delivery routes including intravitreal injections, subtenon injections and intravenous injection, topical drops, and intravitreal implants. Drug Dev Res 69:1–14, 2008.