title: Pathological Confirmation of Optic Neuropathy in Familial Dysautonomia.
abstract: Clinical data suggest that optic neuropathy and retinal ganglion cell loss are the main cause of visual decline in patients with familial dysautonomia, but this has not previously been confirmed by pathological analyses. We studied retinas and optic nerves in 6 eyes from 3 affected patients obtained at autopsy. Analyses included routine neurohistology and immunohistochemistry for neurofilaments, cytochrome c oxidase (COX), and melanopsin-containing ganglion cells. We observed profound axon loss in the temporal portions of optic nerves with relative preservation in the nasal portions; this correlated with clinical and optical coherence tomography findings in 1 patient. Retinal ganglion cell layers were markedly reduced in the central retina, whereas melanopsin-containing ganglion cells were relatively spared. COX staining was reduced in the temporal portions of the optic nerve indicating reduced mitochondrial density. Axonal swelling with degenerating lysosomes and mitochondria were observed by electron microscopy. These findings support the concept that there is a specific optic neuropathy and retinopathy in patients with familial dysautonomia similar to that seen in other optic neuropathies with mitochondrial dysfunction. This raises the possibility that defective expression of the IkB kinase complex-associated protein (IKAP) resulting from mutations in IKBKAP affects mitochondrial function in the metabolism-dependent retinal parvocellular ganglion cells in this condition.
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Neurology, Dysautonomia Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, USA.|University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mendoza-Santiesteban
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dysautonomia Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Jose-Alberto
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Palma
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Hedges
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Nora V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Laver
authors.affiliation: New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Nada
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dysautonomia Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Norcliffe-Kaufmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Dysautonomia Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004402:Dysautonomia, Familial / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000473:pathology; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Familial dysautonomia; Hereditary optic neuropathy; Histopathology; Optical coherence tomography; Retina; Riley-Day syndrome