VEGFA and diabetic retinopathy: All these pathways in one way or another end in increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular occlusion, causing upregulation of factors such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF), stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietins (Ang-2), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and basic fibroblast growth factor-2 (bFGF) that eventually contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy [10, 11].