Diabetic Retinopathy- Brief Overview

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major complication of diabetes, which affects over 90 million people worldwide. Lifetime occurrence of DR is over 90% and 50-60% for Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and T2DM, respectively. Such a high prevalence makes DR a leading cause of blindness in working aged people and a major public health issue in developed countries. In the inaugural issue, this editorial provides a brief overview of the salient features of DR, including risk factors, diagnosis, pathobiology, molecular and cellular mechanisms, and therapeutics. Aspects of DR that are critically important, but not commonly known, will also be discussed.