André Uvijls

A New Assessment of the Normal Ranges of the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test Scores

We gave the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue color vision test to 232 normal subjects between 10 and 80 years of age. One half the subjects underwent binocular testing followed by monocular testing. In the other half monocular testing preceded binocular testing. Performance was better with both eyes than with either eye alone. The worst performance occurred on monocular tests in subjects without previous experience with the task (that is, those for whom this was the first test). The well-known age trend was apparent (children and elderly have the worst color vision). New data are provided for judging the point at which the total error score may be considered pathologic.

New investigations concerning the relationships between congenital colour vision defects and road traffic security

New extentive experiments demonstrated that: (a) protan observers are more deficient than deutan ones with regard to perception distances of some traffic panels, of vehicle red stop lights, of vehicle red rear-position lights and of white, yellow and red reflectors. Contrarily, deutan observers are more deficient than protan ones for the distinction of differently coloured traffic lights and vehicle rear lights; (b) protan and deutan drivers are nevertheless not responsible for more traffic accidents than drivers with normal colour vision; (c) this apparent contradiction is due to psychological compensation mechanisms. The practical conclusions are: (a) that persons with defective colour vision need not to be excluded from non professional road traffic; (b) that it is nevertheless useful that they should be aware of their handicap; (c) that the red traffic signal has to be larger than the other ones; and (d) that the stop and red position lights of vehicles must be sufficiently intense and that the filters transmitting only pure red should be avoided in them.

Spectral increment thresholds on a white background in different age groups of normal subjects and in acquired ocular diseases.

Energetical achromatic increment thresholds on a white background of 10 cd.m−2 were determined at 5 eccentricities by means of 8 interference filters in corporated to a calibrated Tübingen perimeter.A new study of 3 age groups of normal subjects (10–15, 16–41 and 60–76 years) showed that many of the differences between the means are very significant and that only some of them can be explained by the known prereceptoral changes.The same examination method was applied to 120 pathological eyes. When compared with the normal spreads, taking into account the age factor, the spectral sensitivity curves of the affected retinal areas were found to be unevenly lowered in juvenile macular degeneration and in progressive cone dystrophies (for which scotopic luminosity curves are obtained), in central serous retinopathy (where the sensitivities for the shorter and for some intermediate wavelengths are selectively lowered), in some cases of peripheral pigmentary retinopathy (selective lowering of the sensitivities to the shortest wavelenghts) and in some cases of optic nerve disease (apparant enhancement of the sensitivities to the shorter wavelengths). The spectral sensitivity curves are evenly lowered in other cases and diseases. Moreover, the method proved to be a more sensitive test than static perimetry with white objects and, interestingly, more sensitive than the traditional tests of colour vision (Ishihara, Tritan-Plate, AO H-R-R, Panel D-15 and anomaloscope) when used at the foveal level.An introductory section is devoted to the actual trends in colour perimetry.

Results of the Oscar Test in Groups of Normal and Abnormal Subjects

The mean OSCAR setting presents in normal subjects a significant age-related shift to more positive values. It is significantly and still more shifted to negative values in protan heterozygocity, protanomaly and protanopia. It is significantly and still more shifted to positive values in deutan heterozygocity, deuteranomaly and protanopia. The test distinguishes all cases of protanopia and some cases of the other conditions (including heterozygocity) from normal color vision. The practical use of the test will be to distinguish protan and deutan types from among affected homozygotes (detected e.g. by means of the Ishihara test) as well as from among heterozygotes (with normal color vision). The flicker-free zone of the scale is much enlarged in typical achromatopsia. It is still not evident if the test could be useful in the diagnosis of acquired color vision defects.

Muscular activity and perimetric thresholds

Static and kinetic peripheral luminance thresholds were measured by means of a Goldmann perimeter along oblique meridians in monocular vision. In a main group of 33 young and healthy subjects these measurements and visual reaction time assessments were made successively at rest, when cycling without load, when cycling with load using aerobic energy supply, when cycling with load using anaerobic energy supply and twice again at rest. Another group of subjects did not pedal and served as controls. The results show that peripheral visual sensitivity increases faintly but significantly during muscular exercise. When assessed by static perimetry the sensitivity increase is grossly proportional with load and is thus greatest in anaerobic condition, while kinetic sensitivity differs by a sensitivity decrease when passing from aerobic to anaerobic exercise. The reported modifications in perimetric sensitivity during dynamic muscular exercise seem related to changes in alertness.

Colour Vision in Stargardt Disease.

Purpose: To investigate the type and severity of acquired colour vision deficiencies (CVDs) in molecularly proven Stargardt disease (STD) and to establish whether a relationship exists between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and full-field electroretinography (ffERG), and the degree of CVD. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study of 73 patients with a molecularly proven diagnosis of STD, who underwent extensive colour vision evaluation, using pseudo-isochromatic and arrangement tests. Thirteen patients underwent Nagel anomaloscopy. Results: Normal colour vision was found in almost 20% of patients. Red/green (R/G) CVDs increased as BCVA declined. About 45% of all R/G CVDs were of the deutan type, although protan type CVDs became progressively apparent when moving from the high to the low BCVA group. An additional blue/yellow CVD was noted in about 25% of patients. In 10/13 patients, a pseudoprotanomaly was noted on anomaloscopy. Severe CVDs leading to scotopization were noted in patients with low BCVA and/or long-standing disease. No statistically significant differences in ERG results were found between groups with or without a CVD. Conclusions: The degree and type of colour vision deficiency in STD patients correlate better with BCVA than with ffERG results. The presence of specific CVDs may help to establish a diagnosis of STD. A battery of colour vision tests is required to properly evaluate CVDs in STD.

Contents Vol. 54, 2015

Basel • Freiburg • Paris • London • New York • Chennai • New Delhi • Bangkok • Beijing • Shanghai • Tokyo • Kuala Lumpur • Singapore • Sydney Journal for Translational and Clinical Research Founded 1970 by O. Hockwin, Bonn, G. Naumann, Hamburg and D.F. Cole, London Continued by O. Hockwin, Bonn (1981–1994); G.F.J.M. Vrensen, Zeist (1994–2003); Uwe Pleyer, Berlin (2003–2014); David E. Pelayes, Buenos Aires, Borja Corcόstegui, Barcelona (2012–2014)

Study of visual performance on a multi-color VDU of color defective and normal Trichromatic subjects

Seventy-two normal people, males and females subdivided in three age groups and in three groups of academic achievement, and also 14 protanomals, 16 protanopes, 16 deuteranomals and 15 deuteranopes were subjected to several tests using 14 colors displayed by a multi-color VDU.

Value of the Rodenstock Farbentestscheibe 3040.173 for the Diagnosis of Congenital Colour Vision Defects

We assessed colour vision in about 100 normal and congenitally defective subjects by means of a test battery including the Nagel anomaloscope and the Rodenstock test disc incorporated in a multiphasic vision screener. Taking into account only the retest results and using Burggrafs interpretation method the Rodenstock device detects the congenital colour vision defects as well as usual series of pseudo-isochromatic plates, while it provides a much better differentiation in type (protan vs. deutan) and in degree (anomalous trichromatism vs. dichromatism). The authors indicate also which of the 6 pairs of colour could be improved.