Diabetic Macular Edema: Pathophysiology and Novel Therapeutic Targets

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the major cause of vision loss in diabetic persons. Alteration of the blood-retinal barrier is the hallmark of this disease, characterized by pericyte loss and endothelial cell-cell junction breakdown. Recent animal and clinical studies strongly indicate that DME is an inflammatory disease. Multiple cytokines and chemokines are involved in the pathogenesis of DME, with multiple cellular involvement affecting the...