Contrast sensitivity and color vision in eyes with retinitis pigmentosa and good visual acuity: correlations with SD-OCT findings.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the morphological substrate of the changes in visual function in eyes with retinitis pigmentosa and good visual acuity using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).


METHODS
A total of 30 eyes of 17 patients with retinitis pigmentosa and visual acuity of 20/40 or better underwent contrast sensitivity and color vision testing. The retinal thickness at the fovea and macula and the length of the photoreceptor inner/outer segment (IS/OS) junction were assessed by SD-OCT. Structural-functional correlations were investigated.


RESULTS
Contrast sensitivity correlated well with IS/OS length (Spearman r = 0.719, P < .001) and foveal thickness (r = 0.672, P < .001) and moderately with macular thickness (r = 0.422, P = .025). Moreover, color vision correlated significantly with IS/OS length (r = -0.725, P < .001) and foveal thickness (r = -0.661, P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
In eyes with retinitis pigmentosa and good visual acuity, the structural changes observed on OCT scans correspond well to subtle measures of central visual function, complementary to visual acuity testing.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece. gyioti@cc.uoi.gr
Georgia G
GG
Yioti
Chris D
CD
Kalogeropoulos
Miltiadis B
MB
Aspiotis
Maria I
MI
Stefaniotou
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011601:Psychophysics; D055211:Retinal Photoreceptor Cell Inner Segment / Q000473:pathology; D055214:Retinal Photoreceptor Cell Outer Segment / Q000473:pathology; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult