ArticleOphthalmology science2026
Classification of Diabetic Retinopathy Severity with Aqueous VEGF Levels: A Prospective, Observational Study.
Article in Ophthalmology science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Annexin A1 as a Key Modulator of Inflammatory, Glial, and Angiogenic Signaling Pathways in Diabetic Retinopathy.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Ocular Half-Life: What it Does and Does Not Mean for Intravitreal Anti-angiogenic Drug Durability.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Objective: A biomarker to classify diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity and guide preventative treatment is a major unmet need. We analyzed the relationship of aqueous VEGF-A with DR severity to determine if VEGF-A is a candidate biomarker. Design: A prospective, controlled trial at a tertiary academic medical center. Subjects: One hundred seven eyes of 107 patients without diabetes and 328 eyes of 164 adult type II diabetic patients with varying levels of DR. Methods: Aqueous was sampled in 107 consecutive eyes without diabetes undergoing elective vitrectomy surgery. All diabetic eyes had aqueous sampling of both eyes, ETDRS visual acuity, spectral-domain OCT, and color fundus photograph testing. Blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured. Aqueous VEGF-A was measured using a microparticle bead-based multiplex assay. Main Outcome Measures: Aqueous VEGF-A, DR severity, and diabetic macular edema (DME). Results: Median and interquartile range (IQR) aqueous VEGF-A levels for the 107 eyes without diabetes was 55.74 pg/ml (23.56-76.72). Median (IQR) VEGF-A levels increased with DR severity: 100.34 pg/ml (72.31-126.07) in the no DR group, 162.69 pg/ml (113.76-233.89) in the moderate nonproliferative DR (NPDR) group, and 295.48 pg/ml (193.80-409.99) in the proliferative DR (PDR) group ( Conclusions: Aqueous VEGF-A levels tightly correlate with DR severity and support VEGF-A as a novel biomarker to classify DR and guide early intervention. Use of VEGF-A levels may guide preventative treatment, reduce the risk of progression and vision loss, and allow optimal allocation of health care resources. Financial Disclosures: Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
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