title: Correlation between macular blood flow and central visual sensitivity in retinitis pigmentosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the changes in macular blood flow and the correlation between those changes and central visual function in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
  
  
  METHODS
  The mean blur rate (MBR), a quantitative blurring index of the laser speckle pattern that represents retinal and choroidal blood flow, was measured by laser speckle flowgraphy. Mean blur rate values in the macular area were compared between 70 patients with RP and 28 control subjects. The relationships between MBR on the one hand and, on the other, visual acuity (VA), mean deviation (MD) and averaged macular sensitivity of static perimetry tests (Humphrey Filed Analyzer, the central 10-2 program) were analysed in patients with RP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Macular MBR was decreased to 75% in patients with RP compared with control subjects (p < 0.0001, Student's t-test). Spearman's rank testing showed that macular MBR was significantly correlated with VA (r = -0.261, p = 0.0299), MD values (r = 0.438, p = 0.0002) and averaged macular sensitivity at the central 4 and 12 points of static perimetry tests (r = 0.426 and 0.442, p = 0.0003 and 0.0002, respectively). Multivariable-adjusted analysis confirmed that MBR was independently associated with MD (p = 0.0002) and macular sensitivity at the central 4 and 12 points (p < 0.0001 and 0.0002, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decreased macular blood flow was associated with reduced macular visual sensitivity in patients with RP. Although the cause-effect relationships remain to be elucidated, these findings suggest that vascular defects may be involved in the pathogenesis of RP such as central vision loss.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Yusuke
authors: Y
authors: Murakami
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Ikeda
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Masato
authors: M
authors: Akiyama
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.|Department of Ophthalmology, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
authors: Kota
authors: K
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Noriko
authors: N
authors: Yoshida
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Shunji
authors: S
authors: Nakatake
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Shoji
authors: S
authors: Notomi
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Takahiro
authors: T
authors: Nabeshima
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Toshio
authors: T
authors: Hisatomi
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Saga University Faculty of Medicine, Saga, Japan.
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Enaida
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors: Tatsuro
authors: T
authors: Ishibashi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000502:physiology*; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: blood flow; central vision; laser speckle flowgraphy; retinitis pigmentosa