Abstract
Purpose: :
To correlate multifocal electroretinographic responses with retinal thickness in patients with Kjer optic atrophy.
Methods: :
Objective visual function was assessed by multifocal electroretinography (RetiScan - Roland Consult, Germany) in a population of 26 eyes of 13 patients with autosomal dominant optic atrophy. Retinal thickness measurements were also obtained in these patients by optical coherence tomography (Stratus OCT-3, Humphrey, USA). These data were compared with age-matched controls and were also correlated. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA at a significance level of p<0.05.
Results: :
MfERG shows a significant decrease in amplitude in all rings of eccentricity (R1:p=0.042; R2:p=0.002; R3:p=0.0003; R4:p=0.0013; R5:p=0.0005). Decreased retinal thickness was also found in all 9 regions within 6 mm of the central retina (p<0.0001 for all pericentral regions and p=0.009 for the central one). A significant correlation between the grand averages of mfERG amplitude and retinal thickness was found (r=0.721; p=0.0305). Posthoc analysis by rings, yielded marginal significance only in ring 2 (r=0.636; p=0.056).
Conclusions: :
Our results suggest that visual impairment in Kjer optic atrophy is not confined to the ganglion cells / nerve fiber layer (as widely described in the literature), but also by concomitant structural and functional damage in outer retinal compartments.
Keywords: electroretinography: clinical • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • neuro-ophthalmology: optic nerve