Foveal cone specialization and pit morphology vary greatly in albinism. Normal cone packing was observed in the absence of a foveal pit, suggesting a pit is not required for packing to occur. The degree to which retinal anatomy correlates with genotype or visual function remains unclear, and future examination of larger patient groups will provide important insight on this issue.

Objective Assess outer retinal layer maturation during late gestation and early postnatal life using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histology. Methods Thirty-nine subjects ranging from 32 weeks post-menstrual age (PMA) to 4 years were imaged using a hand held OCT (102 imaging sessions). Foveal images from 16 subjects (21 imaging sessions) were normal and evaluated for inner retinal excavation and presence of outer retinal reflective bands. Reflectivity profiles of central, parafoveal, and perifoveal retina were extracted and compared to age-matched histological sections. Results Foveal pit morphology in infants was generally distinguishable from adults. Reflectivity profiles showed a single hyper-reflective band at the fovea in all infants less than 42 weeks PMA. Multiple bands were distinguishable in the outer retina at the perifovea by 32 weeks PMA, and at the fovea by 3 months post term. By 17 months postnatal the characteristic appearance of four hyper-reflective bands was evident across the foveal region. These features are consistent with previous results from histology. A ‘temporal divot’ was present in some infants and foveal pit morphology and extent of inner retinal excavation was variable. Conclusions Hand-held OCT imaging is a viable technique for evaluating neonatal retinas. In premature infants, who do not develop ROP, the foveal region appears to follow a developmental time course similar to in utero maturation. Clinical Relevance As pediatric OCT imaging becomes more common, a better understanding of normal foveal and macular development is needed. Longitudinal imaging offers the opportunity to track postnatal foveal development in preterm infants where poor visual outcomes are anticipated or to track treatment outcomes in this population.

Objective To evaluate subclinical macular findings in premature patients at risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with the use of handheld spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Design Prospective, observational case series. Participants Forty-nine prematurely born neonates. Methods Forty-nine infants were imaged using a handheld SD-OCT. Images were acquired in non-sedated infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Some patients were followed and re-imaged over the course of several weeks. Two hundred ninety-eight total images were acquired, and evaluated for cystoid macular edema (CME) and persistence of inner retinal layers. Main Outcome Measures In vivo determination of foveal retinal lamination, image analysis and clinical observation. Results Two hundred forty (81%) of the images from 45 patients were usable (defined as having scans passing through the fovea with clearly identifiable retinal layers). Persistence of one or more inner retinal layers was seen in 42 patients (93%). Patients with at least one persistent layer, 16, 5, 7, 13 and 1 had a maximum ROP stage of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4A respectively. CME was seen in 25 of the 45 patients (56%) during one or more imaging sessions. CME was present in 9, 1, 5, 9, and 1 patient with maximum ROP stage of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4A respectively. Conclusions Our data suggests there is persistence of inner retinal layers in premature infants, regardless of maximal ROP stage. Subclinical CME is seen in premature infants; however, CME does not appear to be correlated with ROP stage. This suggests that there maybe other etiologies for the CME seen in this patient population. Hand-held SD-OCT imaging is a viable technique for evaluating subclinical macular findings in premature infants, though larger datasets are needed from multiple centers to further evaluate the generalizability of these findings.

Pediatric cataracts are observed in 1–15 per 10,000 births with 10–25% of cases attributed to genetic causes; autosomal dominant inheritance is the most commonly observed pattern. Since the specific cataract phenotype is not sufficient to predict which gene is mutated, whole exome sequencing (WES) was utilized to concurrently screen all known cataract genes and to examine novel candidate factors for a disease-causing mutation in probands from 23 pedigrees affected with familial dominant cataract. Review of WES data for 36 known cataract genes identified causative mutations in nine pedigrees (39%) in CRYAA, CRYBB1, CRYBB3, CRYGC (2), CRYGD, GJA8 (2), and MIP and an additional likely causative mutation in EYA1; the CRYBB3 mutation represents the first dominant allele in this gene and demonstrates incomplete penetrance. Examination of crystallin genes not yet linked to human disease identified a novel cataract gene, CRYBA2, a member of the βγ-crystallin superfamily. The p.(Val50Met) mutation in CRYBA2 cosegregated with disease phenotype in a four-generation pedigree with autosomal dominant congenital cataracts with incomplete penetrance. Expression studies detected cryba2 transcripts during early lens development in zebrafish, supporting its role in congenital disease. Our data highlight the extreme genetic heterogeneity of dominant cataract as the eleven causative/likely causative mutations affected nine different genes and the majority of mutant alleles were novel. Furthermore, these data suggest that less than half of dominant cataract can be explained by mutations in currently known genes.

BackgroundAxenfeld-Rieger syndrome (ARS) is characterised by typical anterior segment anomalies, with or without systemic features. The discovery of causative genes identified ARS subtypes with distinct phenotypes, but our understanding is incomplete, complicated by the rarity of the condition.MethodsGenetic and phenotypic characterisation of the largest reported ARS cohort through comprehensive genetic and clinical data analyses.Results128 individuals with causative variants in PITX2 or FOXC1, including 81 new cases, were investigated. Ocular anomalies showed significant overlap but with broader variability and earlier onset of glaucoma for FOXC1-related ARS. Systemic anomalies were seen in all individuals with PITX2-related ARS and the majority of those with FOXC1-related ARS. PITX2-related ARS demonstrated typical umbilical anomalies and dental microdontia/hypodontia/oligodontia, along with a novel high rate of Meckel diverticulum. FOXC1-related ARS exhibited characteristic hearing loss and congenital heart defects as well as previously unrecognised phenotypes of dental enamel hypoplasia and/or crowding, a range of skeletal and joint anomalies, hypotonia/early delay and feeding disorders with structural oesophageal anomalies in some. Brain imaging revealed highly penetrant white matter hyperintensities, colpocephaly/ventriculomegaly and frequent arachnoid cysts. The expanded phenotype of FOXC1-related ARS identified here was found to fully overlap features of De Hauwere syndrome. The results were used to generate gene-specific management plans for the two types of ARS.ConclusionSince clinical features of ARS vary significantly based on the affected gene, it is critical that families are provided with a gene-specific diagnosis, PITX2-related ARS or FOXC1-related ARS. De Hauwere syndrome is proposed to be a FOXC1opathy.