Time course of deterioration of rod and cone function in RCS rat and the effects of subretinal cell grafting: a light- and dark-adaptation study

The adaptation curves showed that rod function was severely compromised in unoperated dystrophic RCS rats at low luminance levels, even as early as 21 days of age and that cone thresholds became gradually elevated over time. While cell transplantation preserved both rod and cone photoreceptors, rod function did not recover, although further deterioration of cone threshold responses was prevented. This raises concern that measures of outer nuclear layer thickness may not in themselves be an accurate measure of visual capabilities and efficacy of a restoration strategy.