Multimodal imaging of RCBTB1-associated retinal dystrophy

Variants in the RCBTB1 gene have recently been described in patients with inherited retinal disease; so far, there is limited knowledge about this entity, differential diagnoses, and disease progression. Here, we report a novel splice variant in RCBTB1 and describe the associated retinopathy.

Clinical assessment included multimodal imaging with optical coherence tomography, blue-light fundus autofluorescence, and near-infrared fundus autofluorescence. Atrophy progression was evaluated over time. Genetic testing was conducted by next-generation sequencing, pathogenicity was assessed by in silico analysis.

A 54-year-old woman presented with a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/50 in the right and 20/63 in the left eye, respectively. Fundus examination showed macular and peripapillary atrophy with foveal sparing, as well as granular alterations extending to the mid-peripheral retina. Genetic testing revealed a novel splice variant (c.1325-2A>G) in intron 11 of RCBTB1.

We confirm that RCBTB1-associated retinal dystrophy shares phenotypic similarities with mitochondrial retinopathy. Multimodal retinal imaging is vital to assess disease progression and may facilitate a better understanding of this pathology.