Electroretinographic abnormalities in multiple sclerosis: possible role for retinal autoantibodies

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Ophthalmology
• Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves CNS inflammation, with potential links to ocular immune responses.
• The retina's CNS origin suggests shared antigens could trigger autoimmunity in MS.
• Previous studies noted electroretinographic (ERG) changes and retinal autoantibodies in MS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate retinal autoimmunity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
• To explore the relationship between retinal dysfunction and MS.
• To assess rod photoreceptor function using a brightflash ERG protocol in MS.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 34 MS patients and 37 healthy controls.
• Performed standard and brightflash electroretinography (ERG) on all participants.
• Analyzed patient and control sera for antiretinal antibodies using Western blot.

Main Results:

• MS patients exhibited significant differences in four ERG parameters compared to controls.
• Increased implicit times for rod-cone b-wave, cone b-wave, and rod photoreceptor response were observed in MS.
• Reduced photopic oscillatory potential amplitudes were found in the MS group.
• Highest antiretinal antibody titers correlated with delayed rod-cone b-wave implicit times and diminished photopic oscillatory potential amplitudes.

Conclusions:

• ERG testing revealed retinal dysfunction in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
• Brightflash ERG demonstrated rod photoreceptor dysfunction in MS, a novel finding.
• Abnormal ERG recordings in MS patients with high antiretinal antibody titers suggest retinal autoimmunity as a potential cause.