In the case of diabetic retinopathy, raised circulating blood sugar is thought to cause dysregulation of several biochemical and molecular signalling pathways leading to the production of superoxide-free radicals and resultant oxidative stress in retinal tissues.27 Mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and hypoxia-driven VEGF release leads to vascular and neuronal apoptosis and neovascularisation and elevated vasopermeability, respectively.27 Here, VEGFA is linked to diabetic retinopathy.