Electroretinography in night blindness and other vitamin A deficiencies.

Abstract

An extinguished electroretinogram in cases of retinitis pigmentosa has been demonstrated by Prof. G. Karpe, of Sweden. Lorrin A. Riggs (1954) and Armington and Schwab (1954) have reported similar electroretinographic responses in cases of congenital night blindness and retinitis pigmentosa. This paper deals with yet another form of night blindness and its effects on the human electroretinogram. As is well known, an adequate vitamin A level in the blood is mainly responsible for the normal functioning capacity of the rods. Similarly, the scotopic electroretinographic tracing represents the electrical response of the rods. A direct relationship may thus exist between the clinical manifestations of vitamin A deficiency and the electroretinogram. The height of the b-wave of an electroretinogram of a dark-adapted eye represents directly the functioning capacity of the rods and indirectly the grade of vitamin A deficiency in the blood. This paper indicates the relationship between (1) clinical manifestations of