The protocol will measure a number of cytokines in addition to vascular endothelial growth factor in response to 0.3mg Lucentis.

Lucentis injections are the current standard of care for diabetic macular edema. The only deviation from the standard of care in the current protocol is an aqueous tap before the first Lucentis injection and the fourth Lucentis injection for diabetic macular edema.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus
• Best corrected visual acuity 20/32 - 20/320
• Diabetic macular edema involving the center of the macula
• Optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness of at least 250 microns

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment in the past 12 months
• Any diabetic macular edema treatment in the past 4 months
• Heart attack, stroke, transient ischemic attack or acute congestive heart failure within 4 months

3 months