Flavin Imbalance as an Important Player in Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

The retina and RPE together constitute the most metabolically active ecosystem in the body, harboring high levels of flavins. Although diabetic patients have been reported to suffer from riboflavin deficiency and use of flavins as nutritional interventions to combat diabetic insult on other tissues have been investigated, such attempts have never been tested for the retina to avoid diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, the role of flavins in pathophysiology of the retina and RPE has mostly been overlooked. Herein, we review the impact of flavins on various clinical manifestations of diabetic retinopathy and discuss possible ways to address them.

Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy; Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD); Flavin mononucleotide (FMN); Flavins; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Oxidative stress; Retina; Retinal degeneration; Riboflavin; Riboflavin deficiency.