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Abstract Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss among individuals with diabetes and the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness among adults of working age.(1) Diabetic macular oedema continues to be a common cause of vision loss in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and decreased vision-related quality of life in working-aged Americans.(2) Diabetic macular oedema (DME) prevalence varies, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) reported that 27% of type 1 diabetes (DM1) patients developed macular oedema within nine years of onset.Other studies indicate that in type 2 diabetic patients (DM2), prevalence increases from 3% within 5 years of diagnosis to 28% after 20 years. The incidence of macular oedema increases significantly with increasing severity of diabetes in both younger onset and older onset diabetic patients. The specific details of pathogenesis of DME are still unclear. Traditionally, diabetic retinopathy has been described to occur due to micro-vascular injury of the retinal capillaries; however, there is accumulating evidence that retinal neuronal dysfunction may be present much before vascular changes are seen. Ischaemic changes and micro-vascular pathologies have long been hypothesised to play a role in the development of DMO. |