title: Correlation of visual function impairment and OCT findings in patients with Stargardt disease and fundus flavimaculatus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between morphologic lesions of the retina and functional abnormalities in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD) and fundus flavimaculatus (FFM). DESIGN. Case-controlled, prospective, comparative observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A complete ophthalmologic examination, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), was performed in 61 eyes of 32 consecutive patients with STGD/FFM and in 60 eyes of 30 matched healthy control subjects. Furthermore, fundus-related perimetry was performed in 12 of the affected eyes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age ranged from 21 to 71 years in STGD/FFM patients and from 21 to 72 years in controls. BCVA ranged from 20/20 to 20/400 and from 20/20 to 20/32, respectively, in STGD/FFM patients and in controls. A foveal thinning was found by OCT Stratus in almost all cases (average 160 microm) compared with controls (average 210 microm) (p<0.001). BCVA impairment significantly correlated to the degree of foveal thinning (r2=0.16; p=0.0014). Moreover, in STGD/FFM patients the authors observed two types of hyperreflective deposits which were not correlated with BCVA impairment or foveal thinning. In addition, fundus-related perimetry revealed a stable fixation in 8/12 eyes, that was predominantly central in only 4 of these eyes. A smaller degree of foveal thinning correlated to a more stable fixation (p=0.0108), even if not predominantly central (p=0.0218).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series, lower visual acuity and unstable fixation correlated with a greater transverse foveal thinning. OCT and fundus-related perimetry may be useful tools in STGD/FFM patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Hopital Intercommunal de Creteil, University Paris XII, Paris, France. giuseppe.querques@hotmail.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Querques
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iaculli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Delle Noci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coscas
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soubrane
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Souied
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000473:pathology*; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D058609:Visual Field Tests