Patterns of Autofluorescence in Common Genotypes of Retinitis Pigmentosa

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether different forms of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) could be distinguished from one another using fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The National Institutes of Health EyeGene database was used to gather FAF images from 31 patients with RP, which were separated into 11 groups based on the RP-associated gene that was mutated. Investigators reviewed the images for patterns of autofluorescence (AF) and recorded qualitative observations. RESULTS: Four patterns of AF were noted within the macula, including central foveal hyper AF, a perifoveal hyper AF ring, a macular hyper AF ring, and a bull's-eye pattern of AF. Four patterns of AF were noted outside of the macula, including a mid-peripheral hyper AF ring, extramacular spots of hyper AF, patches of hypo AF, and diffuse hypo AF in the periphery. Double hyper AF rings were present in RHO, RPGR, USH2A, and NR2E3-linked RP. CONCLUSIONS: Similar patterns of AF were seen in different forms of RP, and AF failed to distinguish different genotypes.