X-Linked Retinoschisis: <i>RS1</i> Mutation Severity and Age Affect the ERG Phenotype in a Cohort of 68 Affected Male Subjects

Abstract

RS1 mutation putative severity and age both had significant effects on retinal function in XLRS only in the severe mutation group, as judged by ERG analysis of the b-wave amplitude and the b/a-ratio, whereas the a-wave amplitude remained normal in most. A new observation was that increasing age (limited to those aged 55 and younger) caused a significant delay in XLRS b-wave onset (i.e., a-wave implicit time), even for those who retained considerable b-wave amplitudes. The delayed b-wave onset suggested that dysfunction of the photoreceptor synapse or of bipolar cells increases with age of XLRS subjects.