Fundus autofluorescence imaging of retinal dystrophies

Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) is a non-invasive imaging technique that enables the visualization of lipofuscin changes in the retinal pigment epithelium. This study aims to illustrate the spectrum of FAF changes in a variety of retinal dystrophies. For this purpose, we examined patients with retinal dystrophies such as Stargardt disease, Best vitelliform macular dystrophy, and retinal dystrophies associated with mutations in the peripherin/RDS gene. All retinal dystrophies were confirmed by molecular genetic analysis. A broad range of characteristic FAF patterns was observed. Our results indicate that FAF imaging constitutes a useful additive tool in the diagnosis and follow-up of various retinal dystrophies. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.