Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Clinico-Pathological Study Of The Structural And Functional Changes In The Retina And Optic Nerve Following Diabetic Retinopathy Treatments, Richard Filek

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the result of microvascular changes in the retina due to hyperglycemia which alter the blood-retinal barrier (BRB). The increased permeability of BRB results in the accumulation of extracellular fluid, the development of diabetic macular edema (DME) and capillary occlusion. Capillary occlusion results in retinal ischemia which increases vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels, increases vascular permeability and results in neovascularization in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients. The treatments clinically used for DR are panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) for PDR and injectable vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (anti-VEGFs) for DME.

The safety of PRP and anti-VEGF therapy on …

Vascular Stem Cells In Diabetic Complications, Emily C. Keats

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Diabetes leads to a variety of secondary complications. At the heart of these complications lies endothelial cells (ECs) – cells that take up unregulated plasma glucose, experience various biochemical alterations, and provide the basis for whole organ vascular dysfunctions. With the purpose of generating new vascular networks for the treatment of these chronic complications, my initial work focused on vascular stem cells (VSCs). VSCs have the ability to differentiate into both endothelial (EPC) and mesenchymal (MPC) progenitor cells, both of which are necessary for the creation of stable and functional blood vessels. To establish whether these progenitor populations retain their …