[Visual evoked potentials in children with congenital glaucoma].

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Congenital glaucoma is a serious condition affecting infants and children.
• Early detection is crucial for effective management and preventing vision loss.
• Visual evoked potentials (VEP) are a non-invasive method to assess visual pathway function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of VEP in diagnosing congenital glaucoma at various disease stages.
• To determine if specific VEP patterns correlate with the progression of congenital glaucoma.
• To assess the effectiveness of VEP using low spatial frequency stimuli for early detection.

Main Methods:

• Studied phasic and established VEP in 25 patients (48 eyes) with congenital glaucoma (1.5 months to 9 years).
• Compared VEP responses to homogeneous light fields and large/small-cell chess patterns with 114 age-matched healthy children.
• Analyzed VEP alterations in relation to different stages of congenital glaucoma.

Main Results:

• Gross VEP changes were observed in advanced glaucoma stages using both large- and small-cell chess patterns.
• Initial stages of decompensated congenital glaucoma showed altered VEP, particularly to large-cell chess patterns.
• VEP to low spatial frequency stimuli demonstrated diagnostic potential.

Conclusions:

• VEP examination, especially using stimuli with low spatial frequency, is valuable for the early detection of congenital glaucoma.
• VEP findings correlate with the stage and progression of congenital glaucoma.
• This method aids in differentiating between healthy and affected children, supporting timely intervention.