Abstract
<i>Objective</i>: Assessment of the macular ganglion cells function in myopic subjects using pattern electroretinogram (PERG) in comparison with healthy controls to help in diagnosing of retinal diseases, and studying the relationship of the changes seen in PERG with the axial length (AL) of the eye. <i>Methods</i>: The study was cross sectional, included 62 subjects (121 eyes). Three groups were examined: group 1: controls or emmetropics; group 2: mild myopics; group 3: moderate myopics. For all participants, a detailed pathological story was taken, a comprehensive eye examination was performed, AL was measured, and PERG was recorded, then the variables of the recorded waves (peak time and amplitude) were analyzed. <i>Results</i>: A statistically significant decrease in mean amplitudes of (P50, N95) waves was observed in group 2 (36 eyes) and 3 (25 eyes) compared to group 1 (60 eyes) (P-value <0.01), and a statistically significant elongation of mean N95 peak time was observed in (group 2 and 3) compared to group 1 (P-value <0.01) without being associated with elongation of mean P50 peak time. By studying the relationship between AL and each of peak time and amplitude of (P50, N95) waves, we have found that when AL increased, amplitudes decreased and peak times prolonged in a statistically significant way (P-value <0.01). <i>Conclusion</i>: The decreased amplitude of P50 wave may indicate a functional impairment of the macula in myopic subjects, and the decreased amplitude of N95 wave may be due to a functional impairment of their ganglion cells. The elongation of P50 peak time with increasing of AL may be due to a delay of the synaptic transmission between photoreceptors, bipolar cells, and ganglion cells.
Highlights
Myopia is a worldwide phenomenon, and it is an important social health problem due to its association with an increased risk of vision loss [1, 2]
The results have shown a statistically significant differences in mean N95 peak times between the three groups, but there was no statistical significant differences in mean P50 peak times (Table 1)
The mean values of (P50, N95) amplitudes decreased in myopic groups compared to emmetropic group, and the decrease increased as spherical equivalent (SE) value decreased
Summary
Myopia is a worldwide phenomenon, and it is an important social health problem due to its association with an increased risk of vision loss [1, 2]. The pattern electroretinogram (PERG) helps in understanding the pathophysiology of several eye diseases, and the amplitude of PERG -which represents the ganglion cells function- can detect damage before the conventional field devices, and it is an important predictive factor in patients with high intraocular pressure, it is a useful tool in the early detection of optic neuropathies such as those occurring in context of ocular Grave's disease (OGD) and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease It has an important role in determining the pre-proliferative stage in diabetic retinopathy for the possibility of laser treatment, and it helps in explaining of optic nerve diseases if it's compared with the results of pattern reversal visual evoked potentials
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