EVALUATION OF RETINAL GANGLION CELL FUNCTIONS IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS WITH PATTERN ELECTRORETINOGRAM

The retinal ganglion cells layer (RGC) is the initial layer for determining the damage to the optic nerve in neurological diseases, especially demyelinating diseases. 

Visual electrophysiology is routinely used to assess optic nerve function in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients with or without a history of optic neuritis, but analysis mostly focuses on the visual evoked potential (VEP) and specifically the P100 component. In this study, we emphasize the evaluation of RGC functions by testing Pattern electroretinogram (PERG).

PERG components of 48 MS patients were analyzed in two groups: 25 patients with a history of optic neuritis (ON group) and 23 patients with no optic neuritis (MS group). The results were compared with a control group of 20 healthy people. pERG tests in accordance with the International Sociaty for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) standart, the patients were tested with Metrovision brand monpack model electrophysiology device were performed.

A decrease in N95 wave amplitude was detected in all MS patients, especially in the ON group.

PERG can detect disorder in RGC in MS, even if the patient does not have subjective symptoms. Even though PERG is not routinely used in neuro-ophthalmology, the results show that PERG evaluation can provide useful information about disease severity and progression in MS.