Macular telangiectasia

Macular telangiectasia
Macular telangiectasia
Specialty	Ophthalmology

Macular telangiectasia is a condition of the retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye that causes gradual deterioration of central vision, interfering with tasks such as reading and driving.

Type 1, a very rare disease involving microaneurysms in the retina, typically affects a single eye in male patients, and it may be associated with Coats' disease.

Type 2 (referred to as MacTel) is the most common macular telangiectasia. It is categorized as "macular perifoveal telangiectasia", a neurodegenerative metabolic disorder, correlated with diabetes and coronary artery disease. It generally affects both eyes and usually affects both sexes equally.

Type 3 is an extremely rare, poorly understood neurological disease of the retina. It is characterized by occlusion and telangiectasia of the capillaries of the fovea in one or both eyes, as well as some exudation.^[1]