[Early diagnosis of glaucoma with pattern-ERG]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neuroscience
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Glaucoma diagnosis relies on electrophysiological techniques like pattern-electroretinogram (PERG) and visual evoked potentials (VEP).
• PERG has emerged as a key functional indicator for assessing retinal ganglion cells over the past decade.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic sensitivity of PERG and VEP in detecting early glaucoma.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of gold foil electrodes versus wire electrodes in PERG recordings for glaucoma detection.

Main Methods:

• Investigated 171 eyes from 89 subjects, including those with ocular hypertension (OHT), simple chronic glaucoma (SCG), and healthy controls.
• Utilized both PERG with gold foil electrodes and VEP, analyzing components like N95 amplitude and P100 latency.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in N95 amplitude were observed in SCG (p < 0.01) and OHT (p < 0.05) groups.
• Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of PERG showed a dominant frequency difference between OHT and control groups (3.3 Hz vs. 9.9 Hz).
• VEP analysis revealed a significant delay in P100 latency exclusively in the SCG group.

Conclusions:

• N95 amplitude in PERG is identified as the most sensitive electrophysiologic parameter for early glaucoma detection.
• Gold foil electrodes provide higher amplitude and reduced variability for the N95 component compared to wire electrodes.
• This suggests gold foil electrode PERG is optimal for detecting early retinal ganglion cell impairment in ocular hypertension and glaucoma patients.