Diabetes is clearly a worldwide epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released data estimating that 170 million people worldwide have diabetes. Further, the WHO estimates that within the United States alone, 15 million people have the disease, with half of these cases undiagnosed.1 The implications for retina specialists who see patients with diabetes are clear; over the long term, many of our patients who have diabetes will experience vision loss from complications of the disease.

This issue of Retina Today focuses on diabetic retinopathy (DR). Our patients with diabetes often present with either complications from nonproliferative (diabetic macular edema) or the more serious proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The best form of treatment for DR is, of course, screening and prevention, but our treatment options are expanding.

Interestingly, the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) has recently published the results of a study comparing focal/grid laser photocoagulation treatment to intravitreal triamcinolone therapy.2 Many in the retina community were surprised that photocoagulation proved more effective and had fewer side effects than steroid treatment over the course of a 2-year period.

This issue offers articles discussing the existing and emerging therapies for DR. We also have an article focused on the work of DRCR.net, authored by Adrienne W. Scott, MD, and Neil M. Bressler, MD. This article not only summarizes the results of the important data recently published by the DRCR.net in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, but it also reviews studies that are either under way or enrolling to investigate possible treatment options in DR.

Also included in this issue of Retina Today are articles on DR screening initiatives in India, and new treatment modalities for DR. As always, our cover focus is designed to provide the most comprehensive coverage of a single topic in retina.

Retina Today in Your Corner of the World
On another note, Retina Today continues to honor the commitment of providing a global perspective on retina for our readership. As such, the editorial and publishing staff of Retina Today has been present at every major meeting that features retina in 2008, including the Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Angiogensis 2008 in Palm Beach, FL, Euretina in Vienna, Austria, the World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong, and the European Vitreoretinal Society meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. We met many new doctors at these meetings and have significantly expanded our global circulation as a result.

We will continue to be present at the remaining retina meetings this year, so please look for our booth at the Retina Society, American Society of Retina Specialists, and the American Academy of Ophthal-mology, and stop by to say hello, offer feedback, and sign up for your free subscription if you don't already receive the publication. Thank you for your continued support of Retina Today.

  1. Report of WHO consultation in Geneva, Switzerland, 9-11 November 2005.
  2. Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network. A Randomized Trial Comparing Intravitreal Triamcinolone Acetonide and Focal/Grid Photocoagulation for Diabetic Macular Edema. Ophthalmology. 2008;115:1447–1459.