Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine the correlation between visual function and morphological characteristics of the macula in eyes with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Methods: :
Twenty–one eyes of 11 typical RP patients with visual acuity better than 20/100 were examined. RP patients with macular edema were excluded. The best–corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in logMAR units, cone electroretinorams (ERGs) to full–field stimuli, foveal retinal thickness determined by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and multifocal electroretinorams (mfERGs) were determined.
Results: :
The BCVA was inversely correlated with foveal thickness (r=–0.505, P=0.002), and the macular response density of the mfERGs (r=–0.352, P=0.04). There was no significant correlation between the BCVA and b–wave amplitude of the full–field cone ERGs. The macular mfERGs were directly correlated with b–wave amplitude of full–field cone ERGs (r=0.569, P=0.0004).
Conclusions: :
The significant correlation between the visual acuity and the macular mfERGs and the morphological characteristics indicate that a combination of OCT and mfERGs may provide objective criteria for the evaluation of the macula in RP patients.
Keywords: visual acuity • electroretinography: clinical • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound)