AIM: To investigate the effects of fundus laser combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)therapy on serum levels of NOS, VEGF and IL-6 in patients with diabetic macular edema.

METHODS: From May 2015 to May 2016, 106 cases(156 eyes)of patients with diabetic macular edema in hospital were be selected as the research object. According to the random number table method, 84 eyes of 56 cases were in observation group, 72 eyes of 50 cases in the control group. The control group was given retinal laser treatment, the observation group was treated by retinal laser combined with anti-VEGF therapy. We compared two groups of clinical efficiency, the best corrected visual acuity, macular thickness, complications and serum NOS, VEGF and IL-6.

RESULTS: The best corrected visual acuity significantly increased and the macular thickness significantly decreased in the observation group(P<0.05). The improvement of the best corrected visual acuity and macular thickness in the observation group was obviously better than that of the control group(P<0.05). The level of NOS, VEGF and IL-6 was not different between the two groups before treatment(P>0.05). After treatment, the levels of NOS increased significantly and VEGF and IL-6 decreased significantly in the two groups(P<0.05). The improvement of serum NOS, VEGF and IL-6 in the observation group was better than those in the control group(P<0.05). The total effective rate of clinical treatment in the control group(80.6%)was lower than that of the observation group(94.0%, P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the control group(9.7%)and the incidence of complications in the observation group(7.1%)were not significantly different(P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: This is a safe and effective treatment of fundus laser combined with anti-VEGF drugs in the treatment of diabetic macular edema. It can effectively improve serum NOS, VEGF and IL-6 levels.