Association of serum inflammatory markers and diabetic retinopathy: a review of literature.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the western world, among the working-age people. Its exact pathogenesis, however, remains obscure. Systemic inflammation is regarded to play a significant role in diabetes by contributing, among others, to the development of diabetic retinopathy. This review focuses on the possible involvement of the systemic inflammatory markers in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a systematic search of the literature of published papers until August 2017 using the PubMed search engine. RESULTS: We demonstrated that many systemic inflammatory markers contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of retinopathy, while we highlighted in several occasions their usefulness as a key tool in the monitoring of the disease progression and the treatment efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge this is the first review in the literature that elaborates the possible association of serum inflammatory markers and diabetic retinopathy, a disease that may cause irreversible loss of vision.