Abstract

The management of diabetic retinopathy has been guided for almost thirty years by results of the Diabetic Retinopathy Study (initially reported in 1976) and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (initially reported in 1985). The goal of therapy was to reduce the risk of severe visual loss in proliferative diabetic retinopathy and to reduce the risk of moderate visual loss in patients with clinically significant macular edema. Anti-VEGF therapy has been shown to cause regression of proliferative diabetic retinopathy and to provide a significant chance of improved vision which has been decreased due to diabetic macular edema. Although the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy may be greater than the efficacy of focal/grid photocoagulation the greater treatment burden and costs associated with such therapy makes its adoption controversial.

Keywords: Anti-VEGF Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy, Aflibercept, bevacizumab, diabetic macular edema, pegaptanib, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, ranibizumab, VEGF, photocoagulation, neovascular tissue