VEGFA and diabetes mellitus: On the other hand, the VEGF mRNA level in diabetic retina was similar to normal retina (p = 0.669) at week 8 following diabetic induction, but it was twice as high as in the normal retina at week 10 after diabetes induction (p < 0.05, DM vs. Normal), the trend of VEGF expression in the diabetic retinas was maintained to week 12 following the disease onset (p < 0.05, DM vs. Normal) (Figure 3B).