A decrease in VEGF and inflammatory markers is associated with diabetic proliferative retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most severe ocular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is associated with micro-vascular damage. The more advanced stage, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our hypothesis was that inflammatory and angiogenic markers will detect the different stages of type 2 diabetes, and may predict development of micro-vascular damage.