Introduction: Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of visual loss worldwide. The most important clinical findings include diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).
Areas covered: PubMed was used for our literature review. Articles from 1995 to 2023 were included. Pharmacologic treatment of diabetic retinopathy generally involves the use of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for DME and PDR. Corticosteroids remain important second-line therapies for patients with DME. Most emerging therapies focus on newly identified inflammatory mediators and biochemical signaling pathways involved in disease pathogenesis.
Expert opinion: Emerging anti-VEGF modalities, integrin antagonists, and anti-inflammatory agents have the potential to improve outcomes with reduced treatment burdens.
Keywords: Corticosteroids; diabetic macular edema; intravitreal injection; proliferative diabetic retinopathy; vascular endothelial growth factor.