Vitreous fluorophotometry in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

G. A. Fishman, J. Cunha-Vaz and T. Salzano

Fifteen patients with various genetic types of retinitis pigmentosa and three carriers of the X-linked recessive type were examined with vitreous fluorophotometry. All patients with retinitis pigmentosa showed abnormally high concentrations of fluorescein within the vitreous that reflected an abnormality of the blood-retinal barrier. The amount of fluorescein within the vitreous correlated with the extent of photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial disease, as well as with the presence of leakage from retinal capillaries. Vitreous fluorophotometric measurements can show breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier in patients with retinitis pigmentosa who have no ophthalmoscopically apparent abnormalities and only minor changes on the electroretinogram (ERG). Furthermore, a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier can be apparent in carrier of the X-linked recessive from of retinitis pigmentosa, even though the findings from a fundus examination and ERG recordings are normal.