Objectives To observe the clinical characteristics of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and analyze the features to differentiate LCA from other similar disorders.Methods Prospective study of 15 LCA patients which include 10 males and 5 females, aged from 2 to 31 years with the mean age 13.6 years. Medical history, family history, perinatal conditions, as well as complete ocular evaluations were well documented. Among the subjects, 12 patients underwent optometry check, 10 patients underwent ERG and 8 patients had OCT testing. Results All of the patients had nystagmus and sluggish pupillary reflex. The visual acuity distributed from light perception to 0.1. Fivepatients (33.3%) were presented with photophobia, while 7 patients (46.7%) had nyctalopia. Among 12 cases underwent refraction examination, 6 patients (50%) had spherical equivalent of ge;+5D；1 patient（8.3%）had spherical equivalent of ge;+5D; 2 patients (16.7%) had bilateral mild to moderate hyperopia；1 patient (8.3%) had one emmertropic eye and one mild myopic eye; 2 patients (16.7%) had moderate to high myopia. Eight patients (53.3%) had enophthalmus,4 patients (26.7%) had oculodigital sign. All of the 10 patients underwent ERG showed extinguished waveform. Under OCT assesement, 7 patients had decreased fovea thickness; 1 patient had increased fovea thickness, complicated by epiretinal membrane; mild abnormality of microstructure of the retina with diminished and disrupted IS/OS hyperreflectivity were found in 2 cases；while more pronounced disarrangement of the retinal layers were found in 6 cases，inner layers were better reserved in all patients.Conclusions Severe visual impairment or blindness, nystagmus, pupillary reflex, extinguished ERG and hyperopia are main clinical characteristics of LCA.
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical features of patients over 30 years old with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). MethodsNine male LHON patients (18 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The patients aged from 34 to 56 years old, with an average age of (45.22±6.91) years. The course of the disease ranged from 7 days to 21 months, with a mean course of 5 months. Visual acuity, slit lamp microscope, chromoptometry, direct ophthalmoscope and fundus photography were measured for all patients, visual field examined for 6 patients (11 eyes). Mitochondrial DNA mutation was analyzed. The visual acuity was followed-up for 12 months. ResultsSeven of the 9 patients (77.78%) had family history. Five patients (55.56%) had both eyes involved simultaneously, and 4 patients (44.44%) had the eyes involved at different time. Three patients (33.33%) had sudden visual loss, and 6 patients (66.67%) had gradual visual loss. The visual acuity was light perception in 1 eye (5.55%), finger counting in 3 eyes (16.67%), 0.01-0.1 in 7 eyes (38.89%), 0.12-0.3 in 3 eyes (16.67%), equal or greater than 0.4 in 4 eyes (22.22%). Sixteen eyes (88.88%) had normal light reflex, 1 eye (5.55%) had no light reflex, and 1 eye (5.55%) had relative afferent papillary defect. Eight eyes (44.44%) had normal optic disk, 3 eyes (16.67%) had blurred optic disc border and disc telangiectasia, 7 eyes (38.89%) had pale disc and clear boundary. Among 11 eyes underwent visual field examination, 9 eyes (81.82%) had central or paracentral scotoma and 2 eyes (18.18%) had visual field narrowing. Among 9 patients, there were 7 patients (77.78%) with G11778A mutation, 1 patient (11.11%) with G11696A mutation, and 1 patient (11.11%) with T14484C mutation. In the last follow-up, the visual acuity was light perception in 1 eye (5.55%), finger counting in 4 eyes (22.22%), 0.01-0.1 in 6 eyes (33.33%), 0.12-0.3 in 3 eyes (16.67%), equal or greater than 0.4 in 4 eyes (22.22%).The visual acuity was improved in 9 eyes (50.00%), stable in 7 eyes(38.89%), and decreased in 2 eyes (11.11%). ConclusionLHON patients (older than 30 years) are more common in men, mostly with normal light reflex, central or paracentral scotoma and G11778A mutation.
ObjectiveTo observe the effects of penetrance, different time of onset and mutation sites on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular thickness in patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).MethodsThis was a cross-sectional observational study. A total of 88 patients with LHON and 1492 relatives of the maternal relatives (gene carriers) who received treatment in People’s Liberation Army General Hospital from 2015 to 2017 were included in the study. Among the 1492 family members, there were 694 males and 798 females. Peripheral venous blood was extracted from all subjects for mitochondrial DNA testing, and penetrance was calculated. A total of 117 patients underwent BCVA and SD-OCT examinations, including 82 patients and 35 gene carriers. The BCVA examination was performed using the Snellen visual acuity chart, which was converted into logMAR visual acuity. The thickness of RNFL, ganglion cell complex (GCC) and inner limiting membrane (ILM)-RPE were measured with OCT instrument. The mean follow-up was 50.02±86.27 months. The disease course was divided into 6 stages including ≤3 months, 4-6 months, 7-12 months and >12 months. The thickness of RNFL, GCC and ILM-RPE in patients with different time of onset and mutation sites were comparatively analyzed by covariance analysis. Categorical variables were expressed as a percentage, and the χ2 test was used for comparison among multiple groups.ResultsAmong the 1492 family members, 285 were diagnosed with LHON and highly suspected clinical manifestations (19.10%), including 190 males (21.98%) and 95 females (11.90%). The total penetrance rates of 11778, 14484 and rare mutation sites were 19.84% (228/1149), 20.50% (33/161), and 13.19% (24/182) respectively; male penetrance rates were 28.87% (153/530), 27.28% (20/72), and 18.48% (17/92) and female penetrance rates were 12.12% (75/619),14.61% (13/89) and 7.78% (7/90). There was no significant difference in total (χ2=4.732), male (χ2=4.263) and female (χ2=4.263) penetrance between different mutation sites (P=0.094, 0.110, 0.349). Compared with non-pathogenic carriers, the thickness of the RNFL, GCC and ILM-RPE were all different in the four stages ( ≤3months, 4-6 months, 7-12 months and >12 months). The thickness of RNFL, GCC and ILM-RPE decreased with the time of onset (P=0.000). There were significant differences in the thickness of each of the GCC and ILM-RPE layers in the macular area of LHON patients with different mutation sites (P＜0.05). Among them, the site 11778 and 3460 had the most severe damage in all quadrants of macular GCC and ILM-RPE layer, followed by 14484 site, and the rare site had the least damage in all quadrants.ConclusionsThe penetrance of LHON patients is 19.10%. With the extension of the onset time (within 1 year), the RNFL layer of the optic disc and all quadrants of the macular GCC and ILM-RPE layer gradually thinned. Compared with 11778 and rare site, 14484 site, and the rare site had the lighter damage on the thickness of RNFL, GCC and ILM-RPE.
Leber hereditary optic neuropathy is an optic neuropathy associated with mitochondrial DNA. The disease affects young men mainly, which is considered to be due to denaturation of the retinal nerve ganglion cell and axonal loss of optic nerve, leading to optic atrophy. Nowadays, there are some development in studying Leber hereditary optic neuropathy by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). It is great help to know the disease, forecast the progression of disease, and take action on intervention. In addition, there is a lack of in-depth study on OCT and OCTA characteristics among different mutation sites of LHON, different genders of the same site, different families of the same site or even different branches of the same family. It is expected to be improved in the future work.
ObjectiveTo analyze the characteristics and prognosis of visual field of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) with G11778A mutation.MethodsA retrospective clinical study. Twenty-two (44 eyes) of LHON patients diagnosed with G11778A site mutation by mt-DNA examination from May 2008 to February 2018 in Ophthalmology Department of Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), visual field and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The BCVA examination was performed using the international standard visual acuity chart, which was converted into logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA for record. The thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in the 200μm×200μm annular region 1.73 mm outside the optic disc was measured by OCT. At least 7 visual field examinations were performed within one month before and after 2, 4, 8, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months of the course of disease by using Octopus 101 perimetry. Among 44 eyes, 27 eyes were detected with G2 procedure (G2 group) and 17 eyes were detected with LVC procedure (LVC group). The mean field defect (MD) and mean optical sensitivity (MS) were used as the main outcome indexes. According to the onset age, the patients were further divided into the ≤14 years old group and＞14 years old group. There was a significant difference in initial logMAR BCVA between the G2 group and LVC group (t=4.994, P=0.000), but there was no significant difference in gender (χ2=1.896, P=0.169) and age (t=0.337, P=0.708) between the two groups. Independent sample t test was used for comparison between groups, paired t test was used for comparison within groups, and one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between groups. The statistical data were compared by χ2 test.ResultsIn the G2 group, the MD value of the subgroup of children (≤14 years old) decreased gradually during the follow-up period, and the MD value since 18 months after onset was significantly lower than the value of 2 months after onset (t=3.813, 4.590, 5.033; P=0.002, 0.001, 0.000). No obvious visual field index changes were seen in other subgroups (P＞0.05). The central scotoma was the most common type of visual field defect in the early stage, and the diffuse defect was the most common type of visual field defect in the late stage. There was a significant difference in the types of visual field distribution between the early and late stage in G2 group (χ2=17.414, P=0.015). There was no significant difference in the type of visual field distribution between the early and late stage in LVC group (χ2=4.541, P=0.474). The MD value in the G2 group remained stable within 8 months after onset, but significantly improved after 18 months after onset (t=2.100, 3.217, 3.566; P=0.046, 0.003, 0.001). The MS in the LVC group did not significantly improve during follow-up (P＞0.05). The average visual acuity of the G2 group was significantly improved from 12 months (t=3.039, 3.678, 4.264, 5.078; P=0.008, 0.002, 0.001, 0.000). The visual acuity of the eyes in the G2 group was better than that of the LVC group during all follow-up periods (P≤0.05). The RNFL thickness of all patients continued to decrease after onset, but the RNFL thickness was significantly higher at 4, 8, 18, 24, 30 months in the G2 group than those in the LVC group (t=2.471, 2.269, 2.474, 2.509, 2.782; P=0.018, 0.028, 0.017, 0.016, 0.008).ConclusionsThe main types of visual field defect of LHON with G11778A mutation are the central scotoma in the early stage, while the diffuse defect and central scotoma are both very common in the later stage. The visual field of LHON patients examined by G2 procedure is significantly improved during the follow-up, as well as the visual acuity improved significantly, and the visual field improvement in younger cases (≤14 years old) is better than that of older cases (＞14 years old), but the visual field of the LVC procedure cases did not improve during follow-up.
ObjectiveTo observe the changes of vision and visual evoked potentials (VEP) in patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) before and after gene therapy.MethodsA retrospective cohort study. From December 2017 to October 2018, 35 cases of 70 eyes of m11778G.A/MT-ND4 mutant LHON patients who were diagnosed in the Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and received gene therapy were included in the study. There were 30 males (87.71%) and 5 females (12.29%), with the mean age of 23.31±6.72 years. The gene therapy method was intravitreal injection of rAAV2-ND4 (recombinant adeno-associated virus carrying NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit 4 gene) into one eye. The eye with poor visual acuity was chosen as the injection eye. If both eyes had the same visual acuity, the right eye was designated as the injection eye. Seventy eyes were divided into the injected eye group and the non-injected eye group, in which were both 35 eyes. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and pattern VEP (PVEP) examinations were performed in the injected eye group and the non-injected eye group before treatment (baseline), 1, 3, and 6 months after injection. Compare the changes of BCVA and PVEP between the injected eye group and the non-injected eye group at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after injection. Independent sample t test, paired sample t test or two independent sample nonparametric test were performed to compare the two groups.ResultsCompared with baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, the BCVA of the injected eye group (t=3.530, 4.962, 5.281; P=0.001, 0.000, 0.000) and the non-injected eye group (t=3.288, 2.620, 2.252; P= 0.002, 0.013, 0.031) increased, and the difference was statistically significant; there was no statistically significant difference between VEP IT (tinjected eye group=−0.158, 1.046, −1.134; Pinjected eye group = 0.875, 0.303, 0.190; tnon-injected eye group=0.773, −0.607, −0.944; Pnon-injected eye group= 0.445, 0.548, 0.352) and VEP A (Zinjected eye group=−0.504, −0.934, −1.065; Pinjected eye group= 0.614, 0.351, 0.287; Znon-injected eye group=−0.521, −0.115, −0.491; Pnon-injected eye group = 0.602, 0.909, 0.623).ConclusionAfter gene therapy, the visual acuity of the injected and non-injected eyes of LHON patients improved; PVEP did not change significantly, and remained stable compared with baseline.
Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited mitochondrial disease. It is clinically recognizable by painless, bilateral loss of vision, and the prognosis of vision is generally poor. In recent years, the information provided by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) has greatly improved people's understanding of LHON, and new progress has been made in the intervention and treatment of LHON. A detailed understanding of the structural changes of retina and choroid under OCT and OCTA of the natural course and after treatment of LHON, may provide reference for revealing the pathogenesis, prediction of onset time, differential diagnosis, follow-up of treatment effect and prognosis of LHON.
Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a rare hereditary optic nerve disease. At present, the understanding of its etiology and pathogenesis is relatively clear. With the emergence of new drugs such as idebenone and the possibility of gene therapy for LHON, it has brought hope for patients to recover. However, because genetic testing technology has not been widely developed in China, clinical misdiagnosis of LHON as optic neuritis still occurs from time to time. How to make timely identification and correct diagnosis of LHON still poses certain challenges for Chinese ophthalmologists. In addition, in terms of treatment, the choice of treatment methods and treatment costs in the pre-onset (gene mutation carriers) and different periods after the onset of LHON are also huge challenges for patients and their families.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility of immoribund skin fibroblast cell line derived from Leber′s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) patients as a cell model. MethodsA basic research. Two LHON patients and 2 healthy volunteers were recruited from Department of Ophthalmology of Genetic Clinic of Henan Provincial Eye Hospital. The skin tissue of participants was obtained, and the 4 immortalized skin fibroblasts were constructed by SV40 virus infection, including 2 LHON patient cells (LHON-1 and LHON-2 cells) and 2 healthy volunteers cells (NC-1 and NC-2 cells). Mitochondrial morphology in cells was observed by electron microscope. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-oxidation state (NAD+), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-reduction state (NADH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in fibroblasts were detected. Cellular oxygen consumption was measured by seahorse mitochondrial pressure assay. Cell viability was detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK8). One-way ANOVA was performed to compare the levels of ROS, NAD+, NADH and ATP in LHON and NC cells, as well as basal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen consumption, ATP-coupled oxygen consumption, and cell viability. ResultsCompared with NC-1 and NC-2, the number of mitochondrial crest in LHON fibroblasts was significantly reduced, indicating abnormal mitochondrial morphology. Biochemical analysis showed that ROS levels in LHON cells increased, but NAD+/NADH and ATP levels decreased, and the oxygen consumption was significantly inhibited, indicating the presence of mitochondrial damage and respiratory dysfunction. The results of CCK-8 detection showed that the survival ability of LHON-1 and LHON-2 cells was worse under stress conditions. ConclusionImmortalized skin fibroblast cell lines from LHON patients presented mitochondrial dysfunction.