Diabetic patients and retinal proliferation: an evaluation of the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to play a major role in intraocular neovascularisation in ischaemic retinal diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration of VEGF in vitreous, aqueous and epiretinal membranes of diabetic and non-diabetic patients, with other pathological conditions requiring surgical intervention. Higher VEGF concentration were found in samples from the eyes of diabetic patients versus other pathologies as well as in epiretinal membranes versus the other eye compartments in diabetic patients. However, high VEGF levels were also found in retinal detachment and proliferative vitreoretinopathy of non-diabetic patients. We concluded that VEGF is produced locally and plays a fundamental, but not specific, role in diabetic retinal neovascularisation and proliferation.