Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of vision loss worldwide
and its incidence is only projected to increase. Much effort has been dedicated to
investigating new therapies and drug delivery approach in treating its complications,
diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Although
anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has gained popularity in treatment for
DR, patients who respond poorly to intravitreal injections have prompted the search for
additional pathogenic pathways and thus therapeutic targets that may better control
disease activity. These novel therapies, including various anti-angiogenic agents,
growth factor inhibitors, integrin inhibitors, sustained delivery platforms, gene therapy,
chemokine and other inflammatory inhibitors, and neuroprotective agents, are currently
being evaluated for the management of DR. Optimal treatment paradigms in the
management of PDR are also under investigation.
Keywords: Anti-VEGF, Angiogenic, Cytokine, Complications, DME, Diabetes,
Integrin, Implant, Laser, Neovascularization, Proliferative, Retinopathy, Steroid,
Target, Therapeutic.
