Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29301251›Full record

ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2018

The Role of Microglia in Diabetic Retinopathy: Inflammation, Microvasculature Defects and Neurodegeneration.

Christine Altmann, Mirko H H Schmidt

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 241 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
241citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
13.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

241 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 379 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Neuroinflammation in glaucoma: a myriad of cellular pathways and players.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026
    Review
  11. Neuroprotection in Early Diabetic Retinal Disease Using Eyedrop Delivery.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Inflammatory Biomarkers in Diabetic Macular Edema.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Review
  18. Review
  19. Observational
  20. Article

181 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Christine AltmannMolecular Signal Transduction Laboratories, Institute for Microscopic Anatomy and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University, School of Medicine, 55131 Mainz, Germany. Christine.Altmann@unimedizin-mainz.de.
Mirko H H SchmidtMolecular Signal Transduction Laboratories, Institute for Microscopic Anatomy and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg University, School of Medicine, 55131 Mainz, Germany. mirko.schmidt@unimedizin-mainz.de.ORCID 0000-0001-7411-8835
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus, which appears in one third of all diabetic patients and is a prominent cause of vision loss. First discovered as a microvascular disease, intensive research in the field identified inflammation and neurodegeneration to be part of diabetic retinopathy. Microglia, the resident monocytes of the retina, are activated due to a complex interplay between the different cell types of the retina and diverse pathological pathways. The trigger for developing diabetic retinopathy is diabetes-induced hyperglycemia, accompanied by leukostasis and vascular leakages. Transcriptional changes in activated microglia, mediated via the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathways, results in release of various pro-inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, caspases and glutamate. Activated microglia additionally increased proliferation and migration. Among other consequences, these changes in microglia severely affected retinal neurons, causing increased apoptosis and subsequent thinning of the nerve fiber layer, resulting in visual loss. New potential therapeutics need to interfere with these diabetic complications even before changes in the retina are diagnosed, to prevent neuronal apoptosis and blindness in patients.

Indexed as

AnimalsBlood-Retinal BarrierDiabetic RetinopathyHumansMicrogliaRetinal Vesselsangiogenesisdiabetic retinopathymicroglianeurodegenerationretina

Identifiers

PMID29301251
PMCPMC5796059
OpenAlexW2785933318

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.