title: Molecular diagnostics for retinitis pigmentosa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  At least 1 million people worldwide have retinitis pigmentosa (RP), making it relatively common among the inherited forms of blindness. Mutations in many genes may cause RP. The most common known mutation, Pro347Leu in rhodopsin, is found in no more than about 1% of unrelated patients, implying the impracticality of a diagnostic test which would screen only for a few, common mutation sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ongoing discovery and study of RP genes makes it feasible to consider a molecular diagnostic test which would screen coding regions of all known RP genes by a mutation detection method such as conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis followed by sequencing. The parallel development of RP genetic knowledge and treatments such as gene therapy will make such tests both possible and necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baum
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy