Diabetic retinopathy is a progressive disease that results from vascular injury due to chronic hyperglycemia. It is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults in the US and is usually asymptomatic until late stages. Treatment with laser photocoagulation is effective at preventing severe vision loss; thus, diabetic patients should be referred for regular screening by an ophthalmologist. New inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor may provide targeted nonsurgical treatment to improve vision in diabetic retinopathy.
aUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colo
bDepartment of Ophthalmology, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colo
Requests for reprints should be addressed to Scott C.N. Oliver, MD, Department of Ophthalmology, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute, University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 6510, Mail Stop F731, Aurora, CO 80045
Funding: None.
Conflict of Interest: None.
Authorship: All authors participated in the preparation of the manuscript.
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