Treatment for Macular Telangiectasia Type 2

Macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2 is a bilateral disease of unknown cause with localized retinal degeneration and characteristic changes of the retinal vasculature. Funduscopic findings include reduced retinal transparency, crystalline deposits, ectatic capillaries, blunted venules, retinal pigment plaques, foveal atrophy and neovascular complexes. Leakage of telangiectatic macular capillaries is a characteristic finding on fluorescein angiography, and neurosensory atrophy may be present on optical coherence tomography images. Furthermore, there is a specific depletion of macular pigment in the central retina. Depending on the development of neovascular membranes, a nonproliferative and a proliferative (neovascular) disease stage may be distinguished. To date, there is no evidence for an effective treatment of nonproliferative MacTel type 2. Patients with proliferative MacTel type 2 and hence decreasing visual function may benefit from intravitreal application of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors. Early treatment and a small size of the neovascular membrane might be predictive factors for visual function outcome.