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Functional Assessment of Inner and Outer Macular Layers in Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane
Vincenzo Parisi1,2, Lucia Ziccardi1,3, Carmen Dell'Aquila1
1IRCCS-Fondazione Bietti, Rome, Italy.
Purpose:
To evaluate the function of macular ganglion cells and nerve fibers in idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM), using multifocal photopic negative response (mfPhNR) recordings, to evaluate the function of macular photoreceptors and bipolar cells using multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) recordings, and to investigate the correlation between the function of those different retinal elements with the changes of visual acuity and central retinal thickness (CRT).
Methods:
The study included 16 eyes of 16 patients (mean age, 67.25 ± 6.38 years) with stage 4 ERM (16 eyes) and 28 age-matched controls (mean age, 68.03 ± 7.18 years). Main outcome measures included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), CRT, mfPhNR, and mfERG.
Results:
ERM eyes showed significantly reduced (P < 0.01) mfPhNR response amplitude densities (RADs) in all examined circular areas enclosed between 0° to 10° and 10° to 25° and in superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal sectors within 5° to 20° compared to controls. There was no significant correlation between abnormal mfPhNR RADs within the central 0° to 10° and BCVA or CRT. The mfERG RADs in the central 0° to 10° were significantly reduced and linearly correlated to BCVA reduction (P < 0.01) but not to mfPhNR RADs and CRT.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest an unrelated dysfunction of both inner and outer macular layers, occurring in the central 0° to 10°, and an exclusive inner macular dysfunction in the more peripheral areas (10°-25°). The reduction of BCVA correlated only to the central outer macular dysfunction.
