The effects of diabetic retinopathy and pan-retinal photocoagulation on photoreceptor cell function as assessed by dark adaptometry

Purpose The pathophysiology of vision loss in persons with diabetic retinopathy (DR) is complex and incompletely defined. We hypothesized that retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and rod and cone photoreceptor dysfunction, as measured by dark adaptometry, would increase with severity of DR, and that pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) would exacerbate this dysfunction.