Early signs and symptoms of MacTel:

  • Blunting or lack of the foveolar reflex. This observation is restricted to early-stage disease.
  • Crystalline deposits, located in the inner retina at the level of the inner limiting membrane. They may appear as hyperreflective dots at the anterior surface of the nerve fiber layer in OCT scans. The deposits are present at all stages of disease. In participants of the MacTel Natural History Study, 46% of patients had crystalline deposits. For those with deposits, 60% showed deposits bilaterally.
  • Reduced retinal transparency in the parafoveolar area may be one of the first visible changes in the retina. This symptom is also referred to as retinal graying.
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