Visual Evoked Potentials as a Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis and Associated Optic Neuritis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Clinical Neurology

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a CNS inflammatory disease causing progressive neurological decline.
• Accurate biomarkers are needed to monitor demyelination, remyelination, and neuroaxonal injury in MS.
• Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) assess optic nerve function, a key CNS area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of VEPs in diagnosing optic neuritis (ON) and MS.
• To discuss VEPs' utility in evaluating emerging MS therapies.
• To highlight VEPs as biomarkers for MS progression.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on VEPs in MS and ON.
• Analysis of VEPs' diagnostic and prognostic capabilities.
• Evaluation of VEPs in the context of therapeutic trials for MS.

Main Results:

• VEPs effectively assess demyelination extent in the optic nerve.
• VEPs predict recovery from optic neuritis.
• VEPs capture clinical and subclinical demyelination effects in the visual pathway.

Conclusions:

• VEPs are valuable tools for diagnosing ON and MS.
• VEPs can monitor disease activity and therapeutic response in MS.
• The role of VEPs in MS management is expanding.