[Characteristics and dynamics of pathological changes in visual evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis]

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Neurology

Context:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system.
• Visual pathway involvement is common in MS, often presenting with subclinical changes.
• Visual evoked potentials (VEP) are a non-invasive tool to assess the integrity of the visual pathway.

Purpose:

• To characterize the changes in visual evoked potentials (VEP) patterns in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) across different disease stages and disability levels.
• To evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of VEP in detecting demyelinating lesions in the visual pathways.
• To correlate VEP parameters with the severity of disability as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Summary:

• VEP demonstrated high sensitivity (77.8% to 97.8%) in detecting demyelinating damage in MS, even at early stages.
• Increased P100 latency and decreased amplitude were significantly correlated with higher EDSS scores.
• Five distinct VEP patterns were identified, correlating with disease progression and disability, with patterns 3-5 predominating in more advanced MS and higher EDSS scores.

Impact:

• VEP analysis provides valuable insights into the dissemination and severity of visual pathway lesions in MS.
• The classification of VEP changes into patterns enhances diagnostic efficiency for MS.
• This study supports the utility of VEP in monitoring disease progression and assessing disability in multiple sclerosis patients.