Pattern Electroretinography Changes in Patients with Established or Suspected Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness.
• Early detection and diagnosis are crucial for managing POAG and preventing vision loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate pattern electroretinogram (PERG) parameters in individuals with established or suspected POAG.
• To determine the diagnostic utility of PERG in POAG detection.

Main Methods:

• Transient PERG was performed on normal, glaucomatous, and glaucoma suspect eyes.
• Analysis included P50 amplitude, N95 amplitude, and P50 latency.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and discriminant function analysis (DFA) were employed.

Main Results:

• POAG and glaucoma suspect groups exhibited significantly reduced P50 and N95 amplitudes.
• A significant shortening of P50 latency was observed in POAG and glaucoma suspect groups.
• DFA using waveform parameters achieved 76.67% sensitivity and 88.57% specificity.

Conclusions:

• Pattern electroretinography (PERG) shows significant alterations in POAG patients and suspects.
• N95 amplitude emerged as a superior individual indicator for POAG diagnosis via ROC analysis.