Advance in animal model and pharmacological research for diabetic retinopathy

Diabetes mellitus belongs to metabolic disorder. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus with the prevalence of 24%-70%. It severely affects the quality of life. DR is bound to a serious problem of public health along with a dramatic aging population and a growing crowd with diabetic mellitus. Even though various pathogenesis of DR have been identified, such as vascular pathological changes, neuronal degeneration, inflammatory lesions, its mechanism remains mystery. A lot of drugs for DR have been developed basing on different pathogenesis mechanisms. Current researches on animal models and pharmacology for DR were reviewed.