title: Diagnostic fundus autofluorescence patterns in achromatopsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the unique diagnostic fundus autofluorescence (FAF) patterns in patients with achromatopsia and the associated findings on optical coherence tomography (OCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 10 patients with achromatopsia by means of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ophthalmoscopy, Goldmann visual field, full-field electroretinography (ffERG), OCT, and FAF photography. FAF patterns were compared with patient age and foveal changes on OCT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients fell into two dichotomous age groups at the time of evaluation: six patients ranged from 11 to 23 years of age, and 3 patients ranged from 52 to 63 years of age. All patients had severely reduced photopic ffERG responses, including those exhibiting preserved foveal structure on OCT. The younger patients had absent to mild foveal atrophy on OCT, and four of the six demonstrated foveal and parafoveal hyperfluorescence on FAF. In addition, a 7-month-old child with compound heterozygous mutations in CNGA3 demonstrated similar foveal hyperfluorescence. The older patients demonstrated advanced foveal atrophy and punched-out foveal hypofluorescence with discrete borders on FAF imaging corresponding to the area of outer retinal cavitation on OCT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Foveal hyperfluorescence is an early sign of achromatopsia that can aid in clinical diagnosis. In our cohort, patients with achromatopsia demonstrated age-dependent changes in FAF, which are likely to be progressive and to correlate with foveal atrophy and cavitation on OCT. This finding may be useful in charting the natural course of the disease and in defining a therapeutic window for treatment.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors: Abigail T
authors: AT
authors: Fahim
authors: Naheed W
authors: NW
authors: Khan
authors: Sarwar
authors: S
authors: Zahid
authors: Ira H
authors: IH
authors: Schachar
authors: Kari
authors: K
authors: Branham
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Kohl
authors: Bernd
authors: B
authors: Wissinger
authors: Victor M
authors: VM
authors: Elner
authors: John R
authors: JR
authors: Heckenlively
authors: Thiran
authors: T
authors: Jayasundera
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C415904:CNGB3 protein, human; D054815:Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels