Retinopathy is a severe and common complication of diabetes, representing a leading cause of blindness among working-age people in developed countries. It is estimated that the number of people with diabetic retinopathy (DR) will increase from 126.6 million in 2011 to 191 million by 2030. The pathology seems to be characterized not only by the involvement of retinal microvessels but also by a real neuropathy of central nervous system, similar to what happens to the peripheral nerves, particularly affected by diabetes. The neurophysiological techniques help to assess retinal and nervous (optic tract) function. Electroretinography (ERG) and visual evoked potentials (VEP) allow a more detailed study of the visual function and of the possible effects that diabetes can have on the visual function. These techniques have an important role both in the clinic and in research: the central nervous system, in fact, has received much less attention than the peripheral one in the study of the complications of diabetes. These techniques are safe, repeatable, quick, and objective. In addition, both the ERG (especially the oscillatory potentials and the flicker-ERG) and VEP have proved to be successful tools for the early diagnosis of the disease and, potentially, for the ophthalmologic follow-up of diabetic patients.

The hypotonising effect of oral systemic agomelatine at 25 mg day(-1) was able to further decrease IOP in both eyes of all enrolled POAG patients in which multiple drug treatment with anti-glaucoma eye drops had no further effect.

Amblyopia is a unilateral or bilateral reduction of visual acuity secondary to abnormal visual experience during early childhood. It is one of the most common causes of vision loss and monocular blindness and is commonly associated with strabismus, anisometropia, and visual deprivation (in particular congenital cataract and ptosis). It is clinically defined as a two-line difference of best-corrected visual acuity between the eyes. The purpose of this study was to understand the neural mechanisms of amblyopia and summarize the current therapeutic strategies. In particular, the authors focused on the concept of brain plasticity and its implication for new treatment strategies for children and adults with amblyopia.