Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age. Current treatment strategies are mostly limited to laser photocoagulation, which restricts proliferative retinopathic changes but also causes irreversible damage to the retina. This review examines two important pathways involved in regulating vascular function and their role in the development of diabetic retinopathy. One, the renin-angiotensin system, is well known and has established angiogenic effects on the retina that increase in diabetic retinopathy. The other, the kallikrein-kinin system, has recently been found to be important in the development of diabetic retinal complications. This review describes the components of the two signalling networks, examines the current animal model studies investigating the role of these pathways in diabetic retinopathy and reviews the clinical studies that have been undertaken examining systemic inhibition of different points in these pathways. These systems are promising targets for therapies aimed at inhibiting the development of diabetic retinopathy and in the future, combination therapies that take advantage of both pathways might result in new treatment options for this debilitating complication of diabetes.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1444-0938.2012.00747.xDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

diabetic retinopathy
24
development diabetic
16
retinopathy renin-angiotensin
8
diabetic
7
retinopathy
6
alternative pathways
4
development
4
pathways development
4
renin-angiotensin kallikrein-kinin
4
kallikrein-kinin systems
4

Similar Publications

Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and risk of microvascular complications among individuals with type 2 diabetes: a cohort study.

Diabetes

January 2025

Department of Big Data in Health Science, Zhejiang University School of Public Health and Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is associated with macrovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease and stroke. However, the effects of CHIP on microvascular complication have not been evaluated in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study included 20,712 T2D participants without prevalent diabetic microvascular complication (DMCs) and hematologic malignancy at baseline.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To compare a novel high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) with improved axial resolution (High-Res OCT) with conventional spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) with regard to their capacity to characterize the disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) in diabetic maculopathy.

Methods: Diabetic patients underwent multimodal retinal imaging (SD-OCT, High-Res OCT, and color fundus photography). Best-corrected visual acuity and diabetes characteristics were recorded.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent advances of artificial intelligence (AI) in retinal imaging found its application in two major categories: discriminative and generative AI. For discriminative tasks, conventional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are still major AI techniques. Vision transformers (ViT), inspired by the transformer architecture in natural language processing, has emerged as useful techniques for discriminating retinal images.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wide field retinal imaging has emerged as a transformative technology over the last few decades, revolutionizing our ability to visualize the intricate landscape of the retina. By capturing expansive retinal areas, these techniques offer a panoramic view going beyond traditional imaging methods. In this review, we explore the significance of retinal imaging-based biomarkers to help diagnose ocular and systemic conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate serum cystatin C as a potential biomarker for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in a rural Indian population, addressing the urgent need for effective screening tools amidst rising diabetes prevalence.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study recruited 112 patients with diabetes mellitus from Sambalpur, Odisha, India, categorized into groups with and without DR. Serum cystatin C levels were measured alongside clinical and demographic parameters, using established diagnostic methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!