Clinical Studies on Treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract Diabetic retinopathy has been, and probably remains, one of the four major causes of blindness in the United States [1,2]. Without treatment, eyes that develop proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) have at least a 50% chance of becoming blind within 5 years [3–5]. Appropriate application of treatments that have been developed in the last three decades can reduce this risk of blindness to less than 5% [6]. Medical treatments designed to maximize blood glucose control and reduce the development and progression of retinopathy can further reduce the risk of blindness [7]. This chapter discusses the treatments available, the evidence that the treatments are effective and whether the treatments are widely used.