Macular appearance by means of OCT and electrophysiology in members of two families with different mutations in RDS (the peripherin/RDS gene).

Purpose: To describe the phenotype using electroretinography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in members of two families with different mutations in RDS.

Methods: DNA was extracted from blood samples and used for mutation screening by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and nucleotide sequencing of RDS exons. Patients were examined with clinical evaluation, full-field electroretinography (ERG), multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) and OCT.

Results: An Arg-46 --> stop codon conversion and a Ser-125 --> Leu substitution were found, respectively, in affected members of the two families. Phenotypes included retinitis pigmentosa, central areolar choroidal dystrophy, macular dystrophy and adult vitelliform maculopathy. The vitelliform lesion was clearly delineated on OCT, but mfERG showed preserved function. Optical coherence tomography showed attenuation of retinal reflectivity in two cases.

Conclusion: By combining traditional investigations with mfERG and OCT, we were able to obtain a more refined evaluation of contributing macular and generalized retinal dysfunction, respectively, in patients with hereditary retinal disease.