Purpose: Retinal arterioles are attenuated in eyes with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), but dimensions such as lumen diameter (LD) and wall thickness (WT) have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to determine the dimensions of reduced retinal arterioles in eyes with RP. Methods: The study included 66 patients with RP (66 eyes) and 36 control participants (36 eyes) for whom adaptive optics (AO) recordings of the retinal arteries were available. LD and WT were measured on the AO images. The correlations between arteriole dimensions and clinical parameters were determined. Results: The mean LD was significantly smaller in patients with RP than in controls, while the mean WT did not differ significantly. LD was significantly and positively correlated with the mean deviation (MD) of the Humphrey 10-2 field analyzer and ellipsoid zone (EZ) width. The WT and wall-to-lumen ratio were significantly and positively correlated with age and systolic blood pressure but not with MD and EZ width. Conclusion: Retinal arteriole dimensions were significantly correlated with retinal degeneration and systemic factors.
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