Putative tear fluid biomarkers of diabetic retinopathy

Identification of tear fluid biomarkers may offer a non-invasive strategy for detecting diabetic patients with increased risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR) or increased disease progression, thus helping both improving diagnostic accuracy and understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. The goal of this study was to characterize the proteomic profile of human tear fluid and examine changes in proteins expression in different stages of diabetic retinopathy.