Comparing Colored and White-Black Visual Evoked Potentials in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system.
• Optic neuritis (ON) is a common early symptom of MS, often impacting visual function.
• Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are used to assess the integrity of the visual pathway.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic sensitivity of white-black (WB), white-red (WR), and black-red (BR) checkerboard stimulated VEPs in MS patients.
• To evaluate if red-colored VEPs are more effective than WB VEPs in diagnosing ON.
• To assess VEPs and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in MS patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-nine MS patients and 35 healthy controls underwent neurological and ophthalmological examinations.
• VEP and OCT investigations were performed using WB, WR, and BR checkerboard stimuli.
• P100 latencies, VEP amplitudes, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thicknesses were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in P100 latencies and RNFL/GCC thicknesses were observed between MS patients and controls for all stimulation types.
• No significant differences in VEP amplitude values were found between the groups for any stimulation.
• No significant pathological differences were detected between eyes with and without ON history in MS patients and controls.

Conclusions:

• White-black checkerboard VEPs are suitable for routine clinical use in MS patients.
• Further studies are required to establish the utility of red-colored VEPs in detecting subclinical ON.
• VEPs and OCT are valuable tools for evaluating visual pathway involvement in MS.