Progress in Traditional Chinese Medicine on Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a common and blinding diabetic microvascular complication, is a harmful metabolic effect caused by persistent hyperglycemia. Owing to the complex pathogenesis of DR, various clinical treatment methods cannot completely prevent its development and are accompanied by various complications. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new therapeutic drugs or complementary and alternative therapies. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the unique advantages of multi-level, multi-target, and minimal side effects. Accumulating evidence has proven that TCM may help delay or prevent the progression of DR. This paper reviews the effect and mechanism of representative TCMs (including extracts, identified compounds, and compound formulas) on DR in recent years and provides evidence for new drug development and clinical efficacy.

Study on the bioactive ingredients and mechanism of Huangqi against diabetic retinopathy based on network pharmacology and experimental verification

“…Quercetin, a natural flavonoid abundant in the plant kingdom, exhibits anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. 15 Chai et al 16 have elucidated the therapeutic impact of quercetin in diabetic rats induced by streptozocin (STZ), showing significant improvements in ganglion cell count and retinal cell layer thickness. Quercetin also exhibited anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and neurotropic effects by downregulating inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, TNF-α), NLRP3, TLR4, VEGF, and sICAM-1, while simultaneously upregulating HO-1, BDNF, and NGF in the retinal tissue of diabetic rats.…”

The signaling pathways of traditional Chinese medicine in treating diabetic retinopathy

“…Correspondingly, based on these bioactive compounds, with further structural modifications, these compounds are considered invaluable sources of potential therapeutic drugs, demonstrating the importance of identifying bioactive compounds. According to previous research conclusions ( Li W. C. et al, 2022 ), this review innovatively considers the core pathological mechanisms in the development processes of DR (such as inflammation, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress) as the fundamental unit and expounds on the mechanism and potential of TCM against DR from the perspective of signaling pathways ( Table 1 ). Inflammation plays a dominant role in the early stage of DR. TCM can improve inflammation through the NF-κB, MAPK/NF-κB, and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathways against DR.…”

“…Over the past few years, many experimental studies have been conducted on TCM, which has demonstrated promising activity against DR. TCM is characterized by multiple components that act simultaneously on multiple targets in a synergistic manner to produce beneficial effects on the disease. The pathogenesis of DR is very complex, but after a long study period, scholars believe that the occurrence and development of DR are mainly related to inflammation, angiogenesis, oxidative stress, and apoptosis ( Li W. C. et al, 2022 ). Currently, there is a lack of system reviews on the signaling pathways of TCM against DR.…”

Etiology and Treatment of the Nutritional Fatty Liver in Fish: A Review

“…TCM can treat early DR based on syndrome differentiation, which has unique advantages in improving vision, delaying the progression of DR, promoting the improvement of pathological fundus changes, improving systemic symptoms, and enhancing the quality of life (Man and Sai, 2022;Liu et al, 2020;Li et al, 2022). Combining traditional chinese and western medicine can complement each other's strengths and weaknesses in treating early DR, leading to good clinical outcomes (Tejerina et al, 2015).…”