J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2010 May;51(5):693-699.

The Role of Electroretinography in Assessing the Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy

• Park SE
• Sun HJ
• Lee HJ
• Park TK
• Ohn YH

Abstract

PURPOSE
To investigate the clinical significance of electroretinographic (ERG) responses, including the photopic negative response parameter, in assessing the progression of diabetic retinopathy.
METHODS
Standard flash ERG was tested on 28 normal controls and 143 patients who were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Of those, 97 patients had diabetic retinopathy in different stages. Electroretinography was performed according to the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) standards. Amplitudes and implicit times of ERG responses, including the photopic negative response (PhNR), were compared at different stages of diabetic retinopathy.
RESULTS
Amplitudes of oscillatory potentials were significantly reduced in mild NPDR. Cone b-wave amplitude, 30--Hz flicker response, and PhNR were significantly reduced in moderate NPDR.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that oscillatory potentials are good indicators of retinal function change in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy, and the appropriate results of the cone b-wave, 30-Hz flicker response and PhNR tests are good indicators of moderate NPDR.

Keyword

Diabetic retinopathy; Oscillatory potentials; Photopic negative response; Standard electroretinography

MeSH Terms

Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetic Retinopathy
Electrophysiology
Electroretinography
Humans
Retinaldehyde
Vision, Ocular
Retinaldehyde

Figure

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  Figure 1. Amplitudes of ERG parameters of control and diabetic patients.

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  Figure 2. Implicit times of ERG parameters of control and diabetic patients.

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  Figure 3. The ROC curves of the amplitude of the eletroretinogram parameters.

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  Figure 4. The ROC curves of the implicit time of the eletroretinogram parameters.

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