ABSTRACT
Diabetes is becoming a worldwide epidemic, and it is a complex disease that creates serious complications in nearly every tissue and organ. The eye is particularly susceptible to diabetes because it has so many blood vessels and is so metabolically active. Diabetic retinopathy (DR)—the manifestation of diabetes in the retina-is a leading cause of blindness in adults. Of all the different complications of diabetes that a patient will experience throughout his or her lifetime, DR is one of the first problems that they will face.
