EDITORIAL: Changing paradigms in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy

The world is facing an epidemic of diabetes mellitus. Currently, more than 200 million people in the world have diabetes and it is predicted that this number will double in about 20 years. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes and remains one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide among adults aged 20–74 years. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy increases with the duration of diabetes, and nearly all persons with type 1 diabetes and more than 60% of those with type 2 have some retinopathy after 20 years. The two most important visual complications of diabetic retinopathy are diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.