Modern algorithms for diabetic macular edema treatment (Literature review. Part II)

This review presents up-to-date information on officially approved intravitreal angiogenesis inhibitors, provides the comparative analysis of the data obtained during large-scale randomized trials on their efficacy and safety as well as possible schemes of their administration. Special attention is paid to the problem of refractory diabetic macular edema and alternative therapies, including the use of glucocorticoids, inhibition of Rho/ROCK signaling pathway. The dynamics of the central foveal thickness according to optical coherence tomography and best-corrected visual acuity are the main criteria for evaluating the diabetic macular edema therapy effectiveness. According to current data, intravitreal injection of angiogenesis inhibitors is a first-line treatment. In diabetic macular edema, the following drugs have been registered in Russia: ranibizumab, aflibercept, brolucizumab, faricimab. Laser retinal photocoagulation is used mainly for the non-central edema treatment. Intravitreal glucocorticoids are considered as an alternative therapy, but their use is limited by the presence of side effects in the form of secondary drug-induced ophthalmic hypertension and/or glaucoma and the development of cataracts. However, the suboptimal response to standard treatment and the development of refractory forms stimulate the development of novel drugs and delivery systems, as well as the use of several types of therapy that affect different points of the pathogenesis. The review emphasizes the need to further study the trigger points of the diabetic retinopathy pathogenesis and the development of diabetic macular edema in order to find novel drugs and individualize the treatment of each patient. Key words:diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF-therapy