[The diagnostics of tapetoretinal dystrophies using electrophysiological methods]

The purpose of our study was to determine the diagnostic criteria of hereditary tapetoretinal dystrophies. In time of ten years we have followed the course of the disease, the manifestation and the change of the electrophysiological parameters in investigated patients.

At Dept. of Paediatric Ophthalmology in Bratislava we have examined 758 subjects (from 144 families) with suspicion of retinal disease.The subjects of control group were 60, they were divided to the special groups by the age.This step was necessary to make our internal standards of the electrophysiologic machine LACE 2000 16-C. We have to follow the international standards of the ISCEV/ISCERG organisation.

On the basis of electrophysiology retinal dystrophies have been proved in 495 patients. Internal standards were very helpful for us, so we were able to suggest, which kind of acquired parameters were physiological and which were pathological. We could concreted the type of the diagnosis of each of them and, if it was possible, to recommend the treatment. The most frequent diagnosis was retinal pigment dystrophy (166/495), then f. flavimaculatus (76/495)// m. Stargardt (57/495), then m. Best (36/495) and the dystrophy of the cones (23/495) in our patients. Very important is to estimate ERG findings in correlation with other clinical investigation.

Electrophysiological testing is the basic ophthalmologic investigation, it's very helpful by the assessing of the correct and objective diagnosis. Very important is to correlate the acquired electrophysiological parameters with other ophthalmological diagnostic procedure