HISTOPATHOLOGIC AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF DOMINANT CONE DEGENERATION

PURPOSE: To report the histopathologic and immunohistochemical finding s in autosomal dominant cone degeneration. METHODS: The autopsy eyes o f a 75-year-old man with autosomal dominant cone degeneration were stu died with both light and electron microscopy, In addition, immunofluor escent studies using antibodies to cone opsins and cone alpha transduc in were performed, RESULTS: Histopathologic examination of the fovea d isclosed loss of photoreceptors and attenuated retinal pigment: epithe lium, Reducecd numbers of cones could be seen in the parafovea, and on ly occasional cones were visible in the periphery; pods were preserved in the periphery. CONCLUSION: The histopathologic and immunohistochem ical findings in this case of dominantly inherited cone degeneration c orrelate well with the loss of cone function and preservation of norma l or nearly normal rod function upon clinical examination. This condit ion affects red, green, and blue cones. (C) 1998 by Elsevier Science I nc. All rights reserved.