Damage to the blood vessels in the back of the eye caused by diabetes—a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes characterized by progressive damage to retinal capillaries. Non-proliferative DR involves microaneurysms, hemorrhages, and macular edema; proliferative DR involves pathological neovascularization driven by VEGF upregulation. Current treatments include anti-VEGF injections, laser photocoagulation, and vitrectomy. Peptide-based approaches under investigation include intravitreal octreotide (somatostatin receptor-mediated neuroprotection), anti-VEGF peptides, and SP-IGF-1 (retinal neuroprotection).