Masked Analysis of the Clinical Utility of Commercially Available Antiretinal and Anti-Optic Nerve Antibody Testing

Abstract

The clinical utility of most antiretinal and anti-optic nerve antibodies currently available for commercial testing remains unclear and unproven. Despite this, the presence of antiretinal antibodies is included in current diagnostic autoimmune retinopathy criteria, and the presence of anti-optic antibodies are often used to confirm a diagnosis of autoimmune optic neuropathy. However, there is no gold standard for these autoantibodies and it remains unclear how common these antibodies are in individuals without autoimmune retinopathy or optic neuropathy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of comprehensiveantiretinal and anti-optic nerve antibody evaluations currently offered in North America