CONGENITAL HYPERTROPHY OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM

Course overview

CONGENITAL HYPERTROPHY OF THE RETINAL PIGMENTED EPITHELIUM (CHRPE) IS A COMMONLY ENCOUNTERED, GENERALLY BENIGN, NON-PROGRESSIVE LESION WITHIN THE RETINAL PIGMENTED EPITHELIAL (RPE) CELL LAYER OF THE OUTER RETINA. RPE CELLS ARE NORMALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT TO THE INNER (NEURAL) RETINA AND ARE CRUCIAL IN MAINTAINING METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS. HISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS SHOWS CHANGES IN THE CELL SIZE, CELL QUANTITY, AND THE NUMBER OF MELANIN (PIGMENT) GRANULES WITHIN AFFECTED RPE CELLS. THE NAME "CHRPE" IS OFTEN USED CLINICALLY TO DESCRIBE OTHER RETINAL LESIONS THAT ARE SIMILAR IN APPEARANCE BUT POSSESS VITAL DIFFERENCES IN PROGNOSIS. THIS ACTIVITY OUTLINES THE EVALUATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF CHRPE LESIONS AND REVIEWS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND MANAGING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.