A New Approach to Staging Diabetic Retinal Disease

Ophthalmology Science (October 2023) published a Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative Working Group paper titled  “A New Approach to Staging Diabetic Retinal Disease.” An in-depth review that explores an overview of the existing evidence regarding biomarkers for measuring diabetic retinal disease (DRD), specifically diabetic retinal neurodegeneration and diabetic macular edema. Despite significant progress in retinal diagnostics, particularly in data collection from diabetic patients, the staging of DRD remains reliant on traditional color fundus photographs. There is a lack of clear guidelines on integrating data from newer diagnostic modalities into clinical practice. The lead author is Roomasa Channa, MD, and Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD, on behalf of the Diabetic Retinal Neurodegeneration and Macular Edema working group of MTM Vision and JDRF’s DRD Staging Update Project.