Edited by: Steven Benowitz


KEY PLAYER: Lloyd Paul Aiello of the Joslin Diabetes Cener found that VEGF plays a crucial role in causing retinal disease.
L.P. Aiello, R.L. Avery, P.G. Arrigg, B.A. Keyt, H.D. Jampel, S.T. Shah, L.R. Pasquale, H. Thieme, M.A. Iwamoto, J.E. Park, H.V. Nguyen, L.M. Aiello, N. Ferrara, G.L. King, "Vascular endothelial growth factor in ocular fluid of patients with diabetic retinopathy and other retinal disorders," New England Journal of Medicine, 331:1480-87, 1994. (Cited in more than 80 publications through October 1996)

Comments by Lloyd Paul Aiello, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston

Some 125,000 new cases of diabetic retinopathy are diagnosed every year in the United States. The disorder, which can result in blindness, is characterized by a lack of oxygen reaching the retina, resulting in a proliferation of new blood vessel growth. This process, called angiogenesis, is common in many cancers and implicated in...

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