RT Journal Article A1 Kirkman, Matthew Anthony A1 Korsten, Alex A1 Leonhardt, Miriam A1 Dimitriadis, Konstantin A1 De Coo, Ireneaus F. A1 Klopstock, Thomas A1 Griffiths, Philip G. A1 Hudson, Gavin A1 Chinnery, Patrick F. A1 Yu-Wai-Man, Patrick T1 Quality of Life in Patients with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy JF Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science JO Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. YR 2009 DO 10.1167/iovs.08-3166 VO 50 IS 7 SP 3112 OP 3115 SN 1552-5783 AB purpose. Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is an inherited mitochondrial optic neuropathy characterized by bilateral, severe loss of central vision. In this study, the first formal assessment was conducted of visual disability in affected and unaffected individuals from molecularly confirmed LHON pedigrees. methods. Four hundred two LHON carriers—196 affected and 206 unaffected—from 125 genealogically distinct pedigrees were prospectively interviewed using the well-validated visual function index (VF-14) questionnaire: m.3460G>A (n = 71), m.11778G>A (n = 270), and m.14484T>C (n = 61). results. The mean age of onset of visual loss was 27.9 years (SD, 14.9) and mean disease duration was 15.5 years (SD, 15.4), with 74.5% of the affected subjects being men. The mean VF-14 score was 25.1 (SD, 20.8) in the affected patients, compared with 97.3 (SD, 7.1) in the unaffected carriers. Within the affected group, VF-14 score did not worsen with increasing disease duration and individuals with the m.14484T>C mutation had higher VF-14 scores compared with those in the m.3460G>A and m.11778G>A groups. Reading small print and reading a newspaper or book were the two VF-14 items that presented the greatest difficulty. conclusions. LHON has a severe negative impact on quality of life and has the worst VF-14 score when compared with other previously studied ophthalmic disorders. However, affected LHON carriers can be reassured that their level of visual impairment is unlikely to progress with time. The VF-14 questionnaire will be a useful tool for assessing the natural history of LHON and measuring outcome in future treatment trials. RD 2/25/2021 UL https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.08-3166