Over 135 million individuals are af-flicted with diabetes across the world. In the US, diabetes
affects over 18.2 million people (or 6.3% of the total population) and 800,000 new cases of
type 2 diabetes are diagnosed each year (1). Retinopathy is the most common
microvascular complication of diabetes, resulting in blindness for over 10,000 people with
diabetes per year. Epidemiological studies have described the natural history of and
treatment for diabetic retinopathy. There is evidence that retinopathy begins to develop at …

Oxidative stress is increased in the retina in diabetes; the levels of oxidatively modified DNA
and nitrosylated proteins are elevated, and antioxidant defense enzymes are impaired. The
levels of superoxides are elevated in the retina, and the mitochondria become dysfunctional
with proapoptotic protein, Bax, translocating from the cytosol into the mitochondria, and
cytochrome c leaking out from the mitochondria. This is accompanied by increased retinal
capillary cell apoptosis, and the formation of acellular capillaries and pericyte ghosts, the …