VEGFA and cataract: Consequently, DR treatments are mainly based on intraocular delivery of anti-VEGF molecules; however, the intravitreal administration of anti-VEGF drugs has several drawbacks, not the least of which is the fact that, due to the short half-life of the drug, frequent intraocular injections are necessary, generating different side effects, such as endophthalmitis and cataracts (Simo et al., 2014; Duh et al., 2017; Zhao and Singh, 2018).