Panel-based genetic testing for inherited retinal disease screening 176 genes.

BACKGROUND: This case series reports the performance of a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel of 176 retinal genes (NGS 176) in patients with inherited retinal disease (IRD). METHODS: Subjects are patients who underwent genetic testing between 1 August 2016 and 1 January 2018 at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK. Panel-based genetic testing was performed unless a specific gene (e.g., RS1) or small group of genes (e.g., ABCA4, PRPH2) were suspected. If a novel variant was identified, a further comment on their predicted pathogenicity and evolutionary conservation was offered and segregation studies performed. The main outcome measure is the likelihood of obtaining a genetic diagnosis using NGS 176. RESULTS: 488 patients were included. A molecular diagnosis was obtained for 59.4% of patients. Younger patients were more likely to receive a molecular diagnosis; with 92% of children under the age of 6 years receiving a conclusive result. There was a change in their initially assigned inheritance pattern in 8.4% of patients following genetic testing. Selected IRD diagnoses (e.g., achromatopsia, congenital stationary night blindness) were associated with high diagnostic yields. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that NGS 176 is a useful first-tier genetic test for most IRD patients. Age and initial clinical diagnosis were strongly associated with diagnostic yield.

Clinical findings and molecular diagnosis of retinoblastoma in older children.

BACKGROUND: Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common primary childhood intraocular malignancy and usually presents before the age of 4 years. RB in late childhood is rare and may pose a diagnostic challenge to clinicians. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients over the age of 4 years with RB were identified retrospectively. Clinical data, histological findings, and molecular genetic diagnoses were obtained. RESULTS: Two cases of late onset RB were identified. Case 1 was a 10-year-old boy who presented with floaters, and was found to have a unilateral exudative retinal detachment and RB on clinical examination. Genetic testing showed a novel homozygous mutation in exon 20 of the RB1 gene in the tumor sample, c.2027_2034dup, resulting in p.Ile679X. No mutation was found in the DNA obtained from the peripheral blood sample. Case 2 was a 6-year-old boy who presented with loss of vision and pain in the left eye. RB was diagnosed on clinical examination with exudative retinal detachment. Genetic testing showed no mutation in the RB1 gene, but complete methylation of the RB1 promoter region. CONCLUSIONS: RB can rarely present in late childhood. Clinicians should consider RB as a diagnosis when faced with a patient with unexplained exudative retinal detachment.

Analysis of the pre-retinal opacities in Gaucher Disease using spectral domain optical coherent tomography.

Fundal opacities have been reported in patients with Gaucher disease, a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease, prior to the advent of optical coherent tomography. This report provides a detailed analysis of the fundal opacities in a 14-year-old girl with genetically proven Gaucher disease using spectral domain optical coherent tomography. It illustrates clearly that these opacities were pre-retinal opacities located at the vitreo-retinal interface associated with localized posterior vitreous detachments, rather than vitreous opacities as previously suggested in the literature.