Macular Atrophy in Diabetic Retinopathy

Changes in the macular retinal pigment peithelium (RPE) are commonly observed in individuals with DR; in fact, hyperglycemia-induced changes in the RPE may contribute to the development of DR (Li et al., Mol Med Rep 28(4):185, 2023; Tonade and Kern, Prog Retin Eye Res 83:100919, 2021). Macular RPE atrophy can be observed in chronic or burn-out PDR retinas after the resolution of diabetic macular edema or after DV. Although it is an important cause of visual function disturbance in individuals with DR, few studies have investigated this topic. This will be briefly discussed in this chapter.