Potential role of Muller cells in the pathogenesis of macropsia associated with epiretinal membrane: a hypothesis revisited

Abstract

Pathophysiological explanations for metamorphopsia associated with retinal pathologies generally focus on photoreceptor organization disruption. However, the retinal microarchitecture is complicated, and we hypothesize that other retinal cells may also be involved. Metamorphopsia has been widely studied in eyes with epiretinal membranes and we revisit the idea that Muller cell displacement causes retinal macropsia. A PubMed query and related article search for the macula ultrastructure under normal and pathological conditions revealed an enormous amount of information, particularly ultrahigh definition optical coherence tomography and other retinal imaging modality studies. Findings of these imaging studies support our hypothesis that Muller cells, and not cone photoreceptors, are primarily responsible for macropsia in eyes with epiretinal membranes. More specifically, we conclude that displacement of Muller cell endfeet, and not photoreceptor cones, is a more likely the explanation for retinal macropsia associated with epiretinal membranes.