Research Progress Of Idiopathic Epicetinal Membrane

The epiretinal membrane is a fibrous membrane between the vitreous and the inner limiting membrane of the retina,appears in the macular area called epiretinal membrane(ERM).ERM can be divided into idiopathic epiretinal membrane(iERM)and secondary epiretinal membrane(sERM).The exact etiology and mechanism of formation of iERM is still unclear,one of the most widely accepted theory is the injury of the retinal internal limiting membrane,which is caused by posterior vitreous detachment,leads to retinal glial cells and other cells that come from below the inner limiting membrane migrate and formate ERM.The early stage of ERM is translucent,it can be completely asymptomatic,with the thickness of the ERM increasing,the membrane shrinkage causes macular structural abnormalities,and eventually leads to the patient's visual distortion and central visual function decline.IERM occurs in people over the age of 50,with the incidence rate increasing gradually,and the trend of incidence age becomes younger.According to the performance of the fundus,the ERM can be divided into two types: the early glass pattern and the latter stage.Epiretinal membrane fiber hyperplasia can cause superficial or full-thickness retinal folds,traction,vascular tortuosity or dilation,severe patients can appear retinal hemorrhage,exudation,edema,vascular abnormalities and macular hole,causing further damage to eyesight.Optical coherence tomography,contrast sensitivity and visual field examination,fundus photography,multifocal electroretinogram and fundus fluorescein angiography objective examination technology are often used for diagnosis and evaluation of morphological and functional changes of ERM.Due to the optical coherence tomography is convenient,noninvasive,intuitive and repeatable,so in diagnosis,assessment of ERM is widely used in the postoperative follow-up and prognosis,and become the gold standard for diagnosis of ERM.There is no uniform standard for the treatment of ERM.The main treatment methods include follow-up observation,medication and surgical treatment.In recent years,many researchers have studied the drug treatment of ERM,in which the pharmacologic vitreolysis is more promising.However,surgical treatment is still the most importanttreatment for ERM.This article reviews the recent studies on the pathogenesis and treatment of ERM,and discusses the pathogenesis and treatment of iERM.