Color matches in diseased eyes with good acuity: detection of deficits in cone optical density and in chromatic discrimination.
Reduced foveal cone optical density in diseased eyes with normal acuity can affect color matches. Using field diameters of 1 degree, 2 degrees, 4 degrees, and 8 degrees, we measured mean color-match midpoints and match widths in patients who had good acuity and who exhibited three categories of eye disease: hereditary macular degeneration (n = 12), retinitis pigmentosa (n = 19), and glaucoma (n = 18). Results were compared with those for normal observers of comparable ages. Mean color-match midpoints were abnormal only for the population with hereditary macular degeneration, indicating a reduction in cone optical density in the central 4 degrees. Mean color-match widths were enlarged for both hereditary macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, a result consistent with a reduction in the number of foveal cones.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002452:Cell Count; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003119:Color Perception Tests; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000473:pathology; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*