Idiopathic Juxtafoveal Macular Telangiectasia (MacTel) is a condition of the retina about which little is known. It may result in blindness. It is a form of pathologically dilated blood vessels (telangiectasia) at the region of highest visual acuity, the yellow spot in the human eye (macula). The tissue deteriorates and the retinal structure becomes scarred due to the development of liquid-filled cysts, which impairs nutrition of the photoreceptor cells and destroys vision permanently.
MacTel seems to be distinguishable from AMD (age-related macular degeneration by the involvement of different vasculature. In the latter case the choroidal (basal) vessel system is often altered, while in MacTel the retinal capillaries change shape before irreversible changes are taking place and destroy the photoreceptors.
As of July 2011 the origin of the disease is unknown and no treatment has been found to be effective to prevent further progress. Due to the fact the lost photoreceptors cannot be recovered, early diagnosis and treatment appear to be essential to prevent blindness. Several centers are currently trying to find new diagnostics and treatments to understand the causes and biochemical reactions in order to halt or counteract the adverse effects.
MacTel (Macular Telangiectasia) is a disorder of the blood vessels which supply the macula, the central part of the retina that lines the back of the eye and picks up the light like the film in a camera. The “fovea,” in the center of the macula, has no blood vessels at all because they would interfere with central vision. MacTel refers to a curious, very poorly understood condition of the blood vessels around the fovea (juxtafoveal) which become dilated and incompetent, like varicose veins but on a much smaller scale. While MacTel does not usually cause total blindness, it commonly causes loss of the central vision, which is required for reading and driving vision, over a period of 10–20 years.
Although MacTel has been previously regarded as a rare disease, it is in fact probably much more common than previously thought. The very subtle nature of the early findings in MacTel mean the diagnoses are often missed by optometrists and general ophthalmologists. No new information has emerged about the condition since its clinical features were first well described by Dr. J. Donald Gass in 1982. There is much work to be done to understand the disease better, to raise its profile and to search for treatments.
Read more about Macular Telangiectasia: Possible Treatments, Differential Diagnosis, MacTel Project, MacTel Features, Conclusions, Signs and Symptoms, Pathophysiology, Management, Clinical Pearls, MacTel Support