A colour psychophysics enquiry into L-ORD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A colour psychophysics enquiry into late-onset retinal degeneration
IRAS ID
351933
Contact name
Tsz Ha Randa Li
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, days
Research summary
Colour vision is affected in many eye conditions and across-lifespan normative data from normal healthy individuals allows us to tell the difference between those resulting from natural aging and from disease progression. We plan to perform precise psychophysical colour measurements in the laboratory setting using the Cambridge Colour Test to assess whether colour vision changes can be reliably identified at a stage before symptoms appear (i.e., when the back of the eye appears normal) or in early stages of L-ORD. We will also investigate how colour vision changes over time and compare it to matched controls without the condition.
Previous studies have looked at colour vision but methods of assessment of were not uniform enough for direct comparison. More recent studies have looked at colour vision in more detail in a relatively large number of patients with L-ORD using standard colour vision tests. There was a mild to moderate colour vision defect along the red-green axis before any vision loss and occasionally accompanied by blue-yellow losses. This group of L-ORD patients have a genetic mutation that is different to that commonly seen in Edinburgh and nearby regions. They show significant differences in clinical presentation too. We aim to obtain some pilot data which can be further extended to explore this topic.
We will use the Cambridge Colour Test on our group of L-ORD patients to see if more detailed laboratory based colour vision tests can be used as an early biomarker for disease progression. We will compare the data of our L-ORD patients with that of an age and sex matched control group to remove the effects of regional differences and natural aging. One of the earliest symptoms in L-ORD is the inability to see in the dark so the test will be done in different lighting conditions to simulate these conditions.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
25/SS/0022
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Unfavourable Opinion