Purpose: To report posterior chorioretinal atrophy (PCRA) and correlate the vitreous phenotype with inheritance of the disease mutation in a family with vitreoretinal dystrophy.

Design: Prospective observational case series.

Methods: Twenty-four members of a family with 14 affected individuals were examined, and genetic linkage analysis was performed at the COL2A1, COL11A1, and Wagner disease loci. The vitreous phenotype was prospectively graded as optically empty with retrolenticular membrane, fibrillar, or normal. Ocular ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed on selected individuals to study the vitreous structure and vitreoretinal interface.

Results: The 6-year-old proband had PCRA and optically empty vitreous without systemic features, suggestive of Wagner disease. The family history was negative for systemic disease, except for one cousin with cleft palate. However, when examined, clinical features of the 14 affected subjects included 5 with small chin, 4 with at least submucosal cleft palate, and 9 with a myopic refractive error greater than 5 diopters. Lens opacity or previous cataract extraction was found in 13 family members. All affected individuals in whom the vitreous could be examined had an optically empty vitreous with retrolental membrane. Posterior chorioretinal atrophy was found in eight of the affected subjects. The finding was not limited to highly myopic subjects, nor did all the high myopes have PCRA. Ultrasonography and OCT revealed vitreous adherent to the retina, but without apparent retinal distortion or edema of the macula. Significant linkage was established to the COL2A1 locus; the other loci were excluded. A single nucleotide insertion mutation (c.2012 2013insC) was identified in exon 34, leading to a downstream premature stop codon in the COL2A1 gene.

Conclusions: Although posterior chorioretinal atrophy and vitreoretinal degeneration have been classically associated with Wagner disease, we demonstrate its presence in a family with typical Stickler syndrome. On the basis of clinical, ultrasonographic, and OCT studies, the etiology of PCRA in this family does not seem to be attributable to vitreomacular traction or myopia. The vitreous findings in this large family confirm reports that mutations in the COL2A1 gene lead to the optically empty vitreous with retrolenticular membrane phenotype.