Management of diabetic macular edema with antiangiogenic therapy

Macular edema is the leading cause of blindness in diabetic patients. Laser photocoagulation has been the standard therapy for several decades. Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated as an important factor in the occurrence of vascular permeability in this disease. Thus, anti-VEGF therapy has been used to treat this condition. The paper under evaluation offers the preliminary results of a pilot study assessing the role of intravitreal injections of ranibizumab to treat centerinvolving clinically significant diabetic macular edema. This study demonstrates that ranibizumab therapy has the potential to maintain or improve visual acuity and reduce retinal thickness in patients with this disorder.