Colour vision in retinitis pigmentosa: Influence of cystoid macular edema

In retinitis pigmentosa patients the effect of cystoid macular edema on colour vision was studied. The occurrence of cystoid macular edema decreases with increasing colour vision defect. The mutual proportion of the main types of colour vision defects remains stable until visual acuity has dropped to 0.5; at lower VA levels the number of red-green defects increases. Neither the finding of a blue-yellow colour vision defect in FM 100 Hue testing nor the appearance of anomaloscopic pseudoprotanomaly is influenced by cystoid macular edema. The authors conclude that cystoid macular edema in retinitis pigmentosa patients mainly affects visual acuity and not colour vision. They also noted a familial occurrence of cystoid macular edema.