Purpose

We studied the correlation between outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness and cone density in normal eyes and eyes with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Methods

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans were acquired using a displaced pupil entry position of the scanning beam to distinguish Henle's fiber layer from the ONL in 20 normal eyes (10 subjects) and 12 eyes with RP (7 patients). Cone photoreceptors were imaged using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. The ONL thickness and cone density were measured at 0.5° intervals along the horizontal meridian through the fovea nasally and temporally. The ONL thickness and cone density were correlated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient r.

Results

Cone densities averaged over the central 6° were lower in eyes with RP than normal, but showed high variability in both groups. The ONL thickness and cone density were significantly correlated when all retinal eccentricities were combined (r = 0.74); the correlation for regions within 0.5° to 1.5° eccentricity was stronger (r = 0.67) than between 1.5° and 3.0° eccentricity (r = 0.23). Although cone densities were lower between 0.5° and 1.5° in eyes with RP, ONL thickness measures at identical retinal locations were similar in the two groups (P = 0.31), and interindividual variation was high for ONL and cone density measures. Although ONL thickness and retinal eccentricity were important predictors of cone density, eccentricity was over 3 times more important.

Conclusions

The ONL thickness and cone density were correlated in normal eyes and eyes with RP, but both were strongly correlated with retinal eccentricity, precluding estimation of cone density from ONL thickness. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00254605.).