Purpose: The UK 100,000 Genomes Project offered participants screening for additional findings (AFs) in genes associated with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) or hereditary cancer syndromes including breast/ovarian cancer (HBOC), Lynch, familial adenomatous polyposis, MYH-associated polyposis, multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN), and von Hippel-Lindau. Here, we report disclosure processes, manifestation of AF-related disease, outcomes, and costs.
Methods: An observational study in an area representing one-fifth of England.
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of preventable visual impairment in the working age population. Despite the increasing prevalence of DR, there remain gaps in our understanding of its pathophysiology. This is a prospective case-control study comparing the genetic profiles of patients with no DR vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to compare phenotype−genotype correlation in patients with Usher syndrome (USH) to those with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (NS-ARRP) caused by genes associated with Usher syndrome. Methods: Case notes of patients with USH or NS-ARRP and a molecularly confirmed diagnosis in genes associated with Usher syndrome were reviewed. Phenotypic information, including the age of ocular symptoms, hearing impairment, visual acuity, Goldmann visual fields, fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, was reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this review article is to describe the specific features of Stargardt disease and retinopathies (ABCA4R) using multimodal imaging and functional testing and to highlight their relevance to potential therapeutic interventions. Standardised measures of tissue loss, tissue function and rate of change over time using formal structured deep phenotyping in Stargardt disease and ABCA4R are key in diagnosis, and prognosis as well as when selecting cohorts for therapeutic intervention. In addition, a meticulous documentation of natural history will be invaluable in the future to compare treated with untreated retinas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To establish the molecular diagnosis in two brothers presenting with the ocular features of Knobloch Syndrome using whole genome sequencing (WGS).
Methods: Clinical examination and ophthalmological phenotyping were completed under general anaesthesia. DNA samples were tested on a targeted retinal dystrophy next-generation sequencing panel.
Stargardt disease (STGD1) and retinopathies (ABCA4R) are caused by pathogenic variants in the gene inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The gene encodes an importer flippase protein that prevents the build-up of vitamin A derivatives that are toxic to the RPE. Diagnosing ABCA4R is complex due to its phenotypic variability and the presence of other inherited retinal dystrophy phenocopies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We present 3 members of a family with macular dystrophy, originally diagnosed as Stargardt disease, with a significantly variable age at onset, caused by a heterozygous mutation in CRX.
Case Presentation: A 43-year-old female with bull's eye maculopathy, whose sister was diagnosed with Stargardt disease previously at another centre, was found to have a single ABCA4 variant. Further examination of the family revealed that the asymptomatic father was also affected, indicating a dominant pattern of inheritance.
Autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa is caused by mutations in over 40 genes, one of which is the ceramide kinase-like gene (). We present a case series of six patients from six unrelated families diagnosed with inherited retinal dystrophies (IRD) and with two variants in recruited from a multi-ethnic British population. A retrospective review of clinical data in these patients was performed and included colour fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence (AF) imaging, spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), visual fields and electroretinogram (ERG) assessment where available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA retrospective review of the clinical records of patients seen at the Oxford Eye Hospital identified as having mutations was performed. The data included symptoms, best-corrected visual acuity, multimodal retinal imaging, visual fields and electrophysiology testing. Three participants were identified with biallelic pathogenic sequence variants detected using a targeted NGS gene panel, two of which were novel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: The EYS gene is an important cause of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). The objective of this study is to report on novel pathogenic variants in EYS and the range of associated phenotypes.
Subjects And Methods: This retrospective case series at a tertiary referral centre for inherited retinal diseases describes patients with an IRD and at least two variants in the EYS gene.
Importance: Detailed phenotypic information on the spectrum of fundus abnormalities and clinical variability of all phenotypes associated with sequence variations in BEST1 is limited.
Objective: To report a detailed phenotypic and genetic analysis of a patient cohort with sequence variations in BEST1.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective case series took place at the Oxford Eye Hospital in Oxford, UK.
Purpose: Mutations in encoding ADP-ribosylation factor-like 2 binding protein, have recently been implicated as a cause of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP), with three homozygous variants identified to date. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing to reveal additional arRP cases associated with variants.
Methods: Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) or whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed in 1,051 unrelated individuals recruited for the UK Inherited Retinal Disease Consortium and NIHR-BioResource Rare Diseases research studies.
Diabetic retinopathy, a complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, is a complex disease and is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults worldwide. It can be divided into distinct subclasses, one of which is diabetic macular oedema. Diabetic macular oedema can occur at any time in diabetic retinopathy and is the most common cause of vision loss in patients with type 2 diabetes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYAP1, which encodes the Yes-associated protein 1, is part of the Hippo pathway involved in development, growth, repair and homeostasis. Nonsense YAP1 mutations have been shown to co-segregate with autosomal dominantly inherited coloboma. Therefore, we screened YAP1 for variants in a cohort of 258 undiagnosed UK patients with developmental eye disorders, including anophthalmia, microphthalmia and coloboma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe identification of the genes underlying monogenic diseases has been of interest to clinicians and scientists for many years. Using inherited retinal dystrophies as an example of monogenic disease we describe the history of molecular genetic techniques that have been pivotal in the discovery of disease causing genes. The methods that were developed in the 1970's and 80's are still in use today but have been refined and improved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnophthalmia, microphthalmia, and coloboma are a genetically heterogeneous spectrum of developmental eye disorders and affect around 30 per 100,000 live births. OLFM2 encodes a secreted glycoprotein belonging to the noelin family of olfactomedin domain-containing proteins that modulate the timing of neuronal differentiation during development. OLFM2 SNPs have been associated with open angle glaucoma in a case-control study, and knockdown of Olfm2 in zebrafish results in reduced eye size.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Congenital hypotrichosis with juvenile macular dystrophy (HJMD) is a rare disorder presenting in childhood and adolescence with central visual disturbance and sparse scalp hair. Reported retinal imaging is lacking, and whether the condition is progressive remains unclear.
Objective: To investigate a series of patients with HJMD due to biallelic mutations in CDH3 and thereby characterize the disorder.
Hypotrichosis with juvenile macular dystrophy (HJMD) is an autosomal recessive disorder that causes childhood visual impairment. HJMD is caused by mutations in CDH3 which encodes cadherin-3, a protein expressed in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells that may have a key role in intercellular adhesion. We present a case of HJMD and analyse its phenotypic and molecular characteristics to assess the potential for retinal gene therapy as a means of preventing severe visual loss in this condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent advances in technology have greatly increased our ability to identify genetic variants in individuals with retinal disease. However, determining which are likely to be pathogenic remains a challenging task. Using a transgenic coneless (cl) mouse model, together with rodless (rd/rd) and rodless/coneless (rd/rd cl) mice, we have characterised patterns of gene expression in the rod and cone photoreceptors at a genome-wide level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To provide a detailed phenotype/genotype characterization of Bietti crystalline dystrophy (BCD).
Design: Observational case series.
Participants: Twenty patients from 17 families recruited from a multiethnic British population.