Evaluation of visual pathways using visual evoked potential in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Visual evoked potential (VEP) is an electrophysiological exploration to detect the response to light stimulus and reveal visual pathways. Aim: VEP study in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), assessment of cortical and retinal activity, and identifying the role of this investigation in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: A case-control study conducted to investigate two groups: the first group (G1) included 78 patients (156 eyes) with different stages of diabetic retinopathy, and the second group (G0) included 78 healthy subjects (156 eyes). All subjects have been ophthalmologically and neurologically tested, also using visual evoked potentials. The patients have been exposed to mono-ocular, non-patterned stimuli, using LED-goggles glasses. Results: A serious increase in P100 and N75 wavelength latency in diabetic patients has been observed when compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05), and a N135 value increase in patients with diabetes mellitus (p=0.06). In addition, the amplitude of the P100 wave has changed in diabetic patients in comparison to healthy subjects. Conclusions: Changes in latency of waves registered on the VEP pathway and the amplitude of the P100 wave have been observed in patients with diabetic retinopathy (89.7%), which proved the importance of this study in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and the possibility to examine the prognosis of this disabling disease.