Diabetic retinopathy: major unmet medical challenge

Since diabetes is now a global epidemic, the incidence of retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness in patients aged 20 to 74 years, is also expected to rise to alarming levels. The risk of development and progression of diabetic retinopathy is closely associated with the type and duration of diabetes, blood glucose, blood pressure and possibly lipids. It is an unmet medical need that can lead to severe and irreversible loss of vision in people of working age worldwide. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the clinical and anatomical changes during the progression of retinopathy, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms that link hyperglycaemia with retinal tissue damage, current treatments and the emerging pharmacological therapies for this sight-threatening complication of diabetes.