Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Multifocal Electroretinograms
Published on: December 4, 2011
Correlation Between Multifocal Electroretinogram and Optical Coherence Tomography Findings With Visual Acuity in
Asmaa Hassan1, Mahmoud Abdel-Radi2, Mohamed Omar M Aly2
1Department of Ophthalmology, New Valley University, New Valley, Egypt.
Purpose:
To correlate the optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings and multifocal electroretinogram (mf-ERG) responses with visual acuity (VA) in patients with macular dystrophies.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study including 62 eyes of 31 patients diagnosed with macular dystrophy was conducted. All participants underwent assessment of corrected-distance VA, mf-ERG responses (data analysis were restricted to ring 1), and OCT parameters, including central macular thickness (CMT) and the integrity of the inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction. The correlations between VA with mf-ERG responses and OCT parameters were analyzed.
Results:
A statistically significant moderate correlation was found between corrected-distance VA and CMT (r = 0.497, P < .001), the mf-ERG amplitudes of N1 (r = 0.469, P < .001), N2 (r = 0.517, P < .001), and P1 (r = 0.494, P < .001), the mf-ERG latencies of N2 (r = -0.301, P = .017), and the integrity of the IS/OS junction (r = -480, P < .001). There was a statistically significant weak negative correlation between corrected-distance VA of the studied eyes with mf-ERG latencies of N1 (r = -0.269, P = .034) and P2 (r = -0.283, P = .026). Regression analysis showed that CMT and IS/OS junction integrity were the most significant predictors of VA, alongside mf-ERG amplitudes and latencies.
Conclusions:
CMT and the integrity of the IS/OS junction are strong structural indicators for visual function in patients with macular dystrophies. Moreover, mf-ERG is considered to play a crucial role in identifying early functional impairment before irreversible anatomic changes occur.
