[Diabetic retinopathy. Internal medical aspects of an ophthalmologic topic]

Insight into the natural course and the clinical features of diabetic retinopathy as well as advances in understanding the pathogenesis and new developments for beneficial treatments of diabetic retinopathy have broadly enlarged during recent years. It is now well accepted that chronic hyperglycemia and arterial hypertension are the most important factors for microvascular damage in diabetes. Although established treatment modalities have not yet yielded prevention of blindness due to diabetes, there is a trend toward a broader therapeutic concept for patients with diabetes including general vasoprotection. In this context, the retina plays a major role as early retinopathy earmarks the vascular high-risk patient with diabetes. Accordingly, every proven measure should be taken to avoid what still happens in evidence-based medicine: "lost in translation."