Refractile bodies in the inner segments of cones in the aging human retina

Refractile inclusion bodies (approximately 0.80 micron in size) were found in the inner segments of cone photoreceptors in the aging human retina. They were easily resolved with the light microscope. They were never seen in rods, and occurred primarily in retinas from eye donors older than 40 years of age. The incidence of these inclusion bodies is related significantly to age (they occur more frequently with increasing age) and to sex (they are more likely to occur in the aging female than in the aging male). They were often smaller in size and fewer in number in the cones of males compared with females, and in males, fewer cones contained the RB than in females. Electron microscopy revealed that these inclusions are membrane-bound organelles having granular, fibrous, and tubular subcomponents. The occurrence of the RB appears to be unrelated to specific disease processes, medications in use at the time of enucleation, or specimen preparation times.