VEGFA and retinal ischemia: The pathophysiological progression of DR is typically divided into two major stages: non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), which is characterized by microaneurysms, dot-blot hemorrhages, and retinal edema, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), which involves neovascularization as a response to retinal ischemia and elevated levels of angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) [6].