Novel Quantification Methods for Fluorescence to Detect Progression in Stargardt Disease

Study Summary

The purpose of this study is to utilize flavoprotein fluorescence and fundus autofluorescence to detect progression of Stargardt macular dystrophy in a pediatric population over the course of a year with the hope of aiding future therapeutic risk-benefit decisions and assessment of outcomes. Stargardt macular dystrophy is the most common of the juvenile-onset macular dystrophies. Despite determination of ABCA4 as the causative gene, clinicians have been challenged by variability in clinical phenotypes. Given the recent initiation of clinical trials to assess novel treatments (e.g. gene therapy), there is a need to identify patients with the worst prognosis. The investigators have observed that pediatric patients lose central visual function faster than their adult counterparts. Thus, they present an ideal cohort with which to determine the utility of novel modalities to detect early change. These include flavoprotein fluorescence, a new imaging technique for detecting mitochondrial dysfunction developed at the University of Michigan. Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) is another commonly utilized technique of evaluating hereditary eye diseases. The investigators have developed a novel means of quantifying FAF signatures that will allow documentation of severity as well as detection of progression.