A study recently published in Retina reveals that epiretinal macrophage–like cells (eMLCs) may serve as an important inflammatory imaging biomarker for assessing the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Led by Yunkao Zeng, PhD, and colleagues at Sun Yat-sen University in China, the research analyzed 176 eyes of diabetic patients at different stages of DR, including diabetic macular edema (DME), and compared them with 30 healthy controls.

The study found that the density of eMLCs in the optic nerve head and macula increased significantly as DR progressed, particularly in patients with DME. These cells were not only more abundant but also larger and more morphologically altered in eyes with moderate to severe nonproliferative DR and proliferative DR. Additionally, a strong correlation was observed between macular thickness and eMLC density, suggesting that these cells could play a role in the progression of the disease.

The findings indicate that monitoring eMLC density and morphology through optical coherence tomography (OCT) could offer a noninvasive method to gauge DR severity, potentially leading to more targeted treatment strategies.