Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40094701›Full record

ArticleTranslational vision science & technology2025

Quantifying the Progression of Stargardt Disease in Double-Null ABCA4 Carriers Using Fundus Autofluorescence Imaging.

Ivana Mihalek, Hanna De Bruyn, Tomislav Glavan, Annie M Lancos, Caitlin M Ciolfi, Katarzyna Malendowicz, Sigrid Aslaksen, Laurie L Molday, Robert S Molday, Anne B Fulton

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational vision science & technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Ivana MihalekDepartment of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
Hanna De BruynDepartment of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Tomislav GlavanDepartment of Molecular Medicine and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
Annie M LancosDepartment of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Caitlin M CiolfiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Katarzyna MalendowiczDepartment of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Sigrid AslaksenDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Laurie L MoldayDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Robert S MoldayDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Anne B FultonDepartment of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

Photoreceptor Function in ROPR01EY010597 · NEI · CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON · PI FULTON, ANNE B · 1994 to 2023
$10.7M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY010597
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To score real-world fundus autofluorescence (FAF) images of pediatric patients with ABCA4-related Stargardt disease (STGD1), in a way that is automatable, scales with the disease progression, and is applicable to a wide time interval in the natural history of the disease. Methods: We developed the score based on a series of Optos wide-field FAF images of pediatric STGD1 patients (73 images; 14 individuals) and controls (27 images; 8 individuals). The patients' images were obtained over up to 6 years, and the controls over up to 5 years. In each image, we manually selected an artifact-free region, within which we evaluated an average of the pixel-level intensity score, constructed so that the average increases with progression of the disease. Results: The score we propose provides a statistically robust measure of disease progression (91% Spearman correlation with the absolute age, 97% with the estimated time from onset, when averaged over both eyes), comparable across timepoints and patients. Conclusions: FAF is a reliable tool in STGD1 diagnostics, but its quantitative description must be modified to be applicable to tracking the disease progression. Analyzing images obtained in the course of clinical care of pediatric patients poses special challenges that make complete automation difficult. Translational Relevance: Our methodology provides a quantitative tool for investigating the natural progression of the Stargardt disease, and, potentially, the effects of genotype, environment, and therapeutic intervention on its course.

Indexed as

ATP-Binding Cassette TransportersFluorescein AngiographyMacular DegenerationOptical ImagingStargardt DiseaseAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolDisease ProgressionFemaleFundus OculiHeterozygoteHumansMaleABCA4 protein, humanATP-Binding Cassette Transporters

Identifiers

PMID40094701
PMCPMC11925222

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.