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Emerging Insights and Interventions for Diabetic Retinopathy

  • Microvascular Complications—Retinopathy (DL Chao and G Yiu, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Diabetes Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To introduce recent advances in the understanding of diabetic retinopathy and to summarize current and emerging strategies to treat this common and complex cause of vision loss.

Recent Findings

Advances in retinal imaging and functional analysis indicate that retinal vascular and neural pathologies exist long before the development of clinically visible retinopathy. Such diagnostics could facilitate risk stratification and selective early intervention in high-risk patients. Antagonists of the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway effectively reduce vision loss in diabetes and promote regression of disease severity. Promising new strategies to treat diabetic retinopathy involve novel systemic diabetes therapy and ocular therapies that antagonize angiogenic growth factor signaling, improve blood-retina barrier function and neurovascular coupling, modulate neuroretinal metabolism, or provide neuroprotection.

Summary

Long considered a pure microvasculopathy, diabetic retinopathy in fact affects the neural and vascular retina as well as neurovascular communication. Emerging therapies include those that target neuroretinal dysfunction in addition to those modulating vascular biology.

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Funding

Eric Nudleman reports grants from the National Eye Institute (5K08EY028999-02). Rithwick Rajagopal reports grants from the National Eye Institute (K08EY025269) and grants from the Research to Prevent Blindness (Career Development Award).

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  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave. 8096, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA

    Avinash Honasoge, Morton Smith & Rithwick Rajagopal

  2. Shiley Eye Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Eric Nudleman

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Honasoge, A., Nudleman, E., Smith, M. et al. Emerging Insights and Interventions for Diabetic Retinopathy. Curr Diab Rep 19, 100 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-019-1218-2

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