title: ASYMMETRIC CONE DISTRIBUTION AND ITS CLINICAL APPEARANCE IN RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the characteristic changes of fundus autofluorescence in the nasal retina of patients with retinitis pigmentosa.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated 113 eyes of 113 patients with retinitis pigmentosa. We obtained wide-field fundus autofluorescence images and evaluated the status of the retina nasal to the optic disk. The patients were divided into the following three groups: those without nasal sparing (advanced), those with nasal sparing, and those with larger intact areas in addition to the nasal retina (early). Visual acuity, visual field area, age, and the duration of the symptom were compared among the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty eyes (17.7%), 51 (45.1%), and 42 (37.1%) were classified as early, nasal sparing, and advanced, respectively. The nasal retina was essentially preserved in the early group. The clinical characteristics' analysis suggested that the disease progression appears from that represented by early groups, then nasal sparing groups, and finally advanced groups. The authors found that the nasal sparing pattern bears a close resemblance to the previously reported cone photoreceptor distribution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wide-field fundus autofluorescence imaging detected nasal sparing in retinitis pigmentosa. The characteristic fundus autofluorescence pattern should reflect cone photoreceptor distribution in the human retina. This finding may be an example of the clinical appearance of asymmetric photoreceptor distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogino
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morooka
authors.forename: Maho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugahara
authors.forename: Nagahisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061848:Optical Imaging; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology