VEGFA and diabetes mellitus: Diabetic retinopathy is a major microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus [1].Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces retinal intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM‐1) expression and initiates retinal leukocyte adhesion, which in turn leads to early blood- retinal barrier breakdown, capillary non-perfusion, and endothelial cell injury and death [2].