Mechanisms in proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

The wound-healing paradigm for proliferative vitreoretinopathy has provided numerous avenues for investigation into the pathobiology of the process. The emerging picture is a complex interaction of cytokines, matrix proteins, and metalloproteinases influencing cell behavior and resulting in the formation of undesirable periretinal membranes. It seems unlikely that focusing therapy on one particular target will be sufficient to stop the entire cascade of cellular events leading to proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Rather, multiple adjunctive agents targeted at different stages of the process and given at the appropriate time might be more successful in achieving improved visual outcomes for patients.