Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy by Melatonin in Rats with STZ Induced Diabetes Mellitus

Objectives This study evaluates effect of melatonin as antioxidant on diabetic retinopathy. The pathophysiology of diabetic retinopathy involves many factors. The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy involves oxidative stress and hyperglycemia. Melatonin stimulates endogenous antioxidant enzymes. Methods Four study groups were included in the study, normal control, diabetic control, melatonin control group, diabetic group treated with melatonin10mg/kg IP. After sacrifice, VEGF, MDA, were measured in retina as well as retinal hisopathology. Fasting blood sugar was measured in the study group. Results diabetic group treated with melatonin showed significant improvement of all parameters measured compared to diabetic group (p valueless than 0.05). At the end of the study, we concluded that melatonin improved all parameters measured and resulted in improvement of diabetic retinopathy.