Retinal Function and Loss of Autofluorescence in Stargardt Disease

In Brief Objective: To determine the relationship between reduced retinal autofluorescence and the dense scotomas in Stargardt disease. Method: Retrospective review of patients with Stargardt disease seen between 2000 and 2004 at a tertiary referral center. Patients: All 32 patients with Stargardt who underwent both autofluorescence (AF) imaging and scotoma mapping were included. Results: Forty-seven percent of eyes had dense scotomas corresponding to the areas of loss of AF (27% corresponding to the area of uniform loss of AF, and 20% corresponding to the area of uniform plus mottled loss of AF). Fifty-three percent of eyes did not have a good correlation of the dense scotoma with the area of loss of AF. Both eyes were judged to be in the same group in 75% of patients. Conclusions: Areas of reduced AF are measurable, but are not equivalent to the area of dense scotoma in 53% of patients. Measures of retinal sensitivity and scotomas are necessary for defining retinal functional involvement in Stargardt disease. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between reduced retinal autofluorescence and the dense scotomas in Stargardt disease. In a retrospective review of patients with Stargardt disease seen between 2000 and 2004 at a tertiary referral center, all 32 patients with Stargardt who underwent both autofluorescence (AF) imaging and scotoma mapping were included. The authors concluded that areas of reduced AF are measurable, but are not equivalent to the area of dense scotoma in 53% of patients. Measures of retinal sensitivity and scotomas are necessary for defining retinal functional involvement in Stargardt disease.