Solutions to a Radical Problem: Overview of Current and Future Treatment Strategies in Leber’s Hereditary Opic Neuropathy

Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) is the most common primary mitochondrial DNA disorder. It is characterized by bilateral severe central subacute vision loss due to specific loss of Retinal Ganglion Cells and their axons. Historically, treatment options have been quite limited, but ongoing clinical trials show promise, with significant advances being made in the testing of free radical scavengers and gene therapy. In this review, we summarize management strategies and rational of…

Phenotypic Variation of Autosomal Recessive Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (arLHON) in One Family

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a rare disease with a prevalence of 1 in 25,000 births. LHON usually presents in young males, with painless loss of visual acuity in one or both eyes. Recently an autosomal recessive form of the disease (arLHON or LHONAR) has been described, which is caused by a biallelic mutation in the DNAJC30 gene (usually a missense mutation c.152A>G). The phenotypic and clinical characteristics of patients with arLHON are similar to those of mtLHON, but some…

Proteomic Profiling Reveals Increased Glycolysis, Decreased Oxidoreductase Activity and Fatty Acid Degradation in Skin Derived Fibroblasts from LHON Patients Bearing m.G11778A

LHON is a common blinding inherited optic neuropathy caused by mutations in mitochondrial genes. In this study, by using skin fibroblasts derived from LHON patients with the most common m.G11778A mutation and healthy objects, we performed proteomic analysis to document changes in molecular proteins, signaling pathways and cellular activities. Furthermore, the results were confirmed by functional studies. A total of 860 differential expression proteins were identified, containing 624 upregulated…

Randomized trial of bilateral gene therapy injection for m.11778G > A MT-ND4 Leber optic neuropathy

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is an important example of mitochondrial blindness with the m.11778G > A mutation in the MT-ND4 gene being the most common disease-causing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variant worldwide. The REFLECT phase 3 pivotal study is a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial investigating the efficacy and safety of bilateral intravitreal injection of lenadogene nolparvovec in patients with a confirmed m.11778G > A mutation, using a recombinant…

The Relative Preservation of the Central Retinal Layers in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thickness of retinal layers in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) in the atrophic stage compared with presumably inherited bilateral optic neuropathy of unknown cause with the aim of seeing if any LHON-specific patterns exist. (2) Methods: 14 patients (24 eyes) with genetically confirmed LHON (LHON group) were compared with 13 patients (23 eyes) with negative genetic testing results (mtDNA + WES) and without identified etiology…