Related Experiment Videos
Electrophysiologic evaluation of retinal pigment epithelial damage induced by photic exposure
1Department of Ophthalmology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan. tk4649@pj8.so-net.ne.jp
Purpose:
To evaluate the retinal pigment epithelial damage induced by light exposure.
Methods:
One eye of 20 rabbits was exposed to xenon light for 2 hours at an irradiance of 140 mW/cm2 at the surface of the cornea. The contralateral eye served as a control. Forty-eight hours after the light exposure, corneal direct-coupled electroretinograms and the 7% NaHCO3 (bicarbonate) responses of the standing potential were recorded.
Results:
The amplitudes of the a-, b-, and c-waves of the electroretinograms were significantly reduced in the light-exposed eyes, with the c-waves more reduced than the a- and b-waves. The bicarbonate response was also significantly reduced in the irradiated eyes.
Conclusions:
The decrease of the bicarbonate response of the standing potential indicated that significant functional damage of the retinal pigment epithelium was induced by the light exposure.