Microvascular lesions of diabetic retinopathy: clues towards understanding pathogenesis?

T.M Curtis, TA Gardiner, AW Stitt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

305 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Retinopathy is a major complication of diabetes mellitus and this condition remains a leading cause of blindness in the working population of developed countries. As diabetic retinopathy progresses a range of neuroglial and microvascular abnormalities develop although it remains unclear how these pathologies relate to each other and their net contribution to retinal damage. From a haemodynamic perspective, evidence suggests that there is an early reduction in retinal perfusion before the onset of diabetic retinopathy followed by a gradual increase in blood flow as the complication progresses. The functional reduction in retinal blood flow observed during early diabetic retinopathy may be additive or synergistic to pro-inflammatory changes, leucostasis and vaso-occlusion and thus be intimately linked to the progressive ischaemic hypoxia and increased blood flow associated with later stages of the disease. In the current review a unifying framework is presented that explains how arteriolar dysfunction and haemodynamic changes may contribute to late stage microvascular pathology and vision loss in human diabetic retinopathy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1496-1508
Number of pages13
JournalEye
Volume23
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology

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