[Progress of research on pathogenesis and medical treatment of diabetic retinopathy]

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. Studies on the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy are important for the prevention and treatment of this disease. Neurodegeneration and microvascular dysfunction are the major events of diabetic retinopathy happened in the early stage of diabetes mellitus. The pathologic changes include neuron apoptosis, release of inflammatory mediators and impaired glutamate metabolism. Diabetic retinopathy has many pathological changes with inflammatory characteristics. Because of the adhesion and migration of the leucocyte, increased permeability of blood vessel, haemodynamic change and many inflammatory mediators involved in the process of diabetic retinopathy, more and more researchers believe that diabetic retinopathy is a chronic inflammatory disease. These studies provide new notion of mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy and theoretical foundation for the treatment of this disease. Further studies on the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy can provide novel procedures for the prevention and treatment of this disease.