Scleral Thickness in Autosomal Dominant Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy

To investigate the posterior and equatorial scleral thickness in patients with autosomal dominant Best disease, a condition that has chronic subretinal fluid.

Retrospective study involving patients with Best disease and age-matched controls. Participants were evaluated with contact B-scan ultrasonography and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography to evaluate scleral thickness in the posterior pole and equator. Univariate analysis and generalized estimating equations were used.

Of 9 patients with genetically proven Best disease and 23 age-matched controls, there was no significant difference in the age or the gender proportion between groups. Subfoveal choroidal thickness and axial length were not significantly different between groups. Both posterior scleral (OD; 1.38mm vs. 0.89mm, P<.001 and OS; 1.39mm vs. 0.83mm, P<.001) and equatorial scleral (OD; 0.61mm vs. 0.42mm, P=.003, and OS; 0.55mm vs. 0.41mm, P=.017) thicknesses were much greater in cases as compared with controls. Multivariate analysis showed male sex and having Best disease were each significant predictors of posterior scleral thickness and Best disease was the sole significant predictor for equatorial scleral thickness.

BEST1 gene may have a developmental role leading to having a thicker sclera, influencing disease manifestation, and contributing to the accumulation of subretinal fluid in Best disease.