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PURPOSE: Electroretinograms to high-intensity flashes were obtained to determine the extent of rod and cone photoreceptor and postreceptor dysfunction in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: Full-field flash electroretinograms were obtained using brief high-intensity flashes. Dark-adapted (rod-dominated) and light-adapted (cone-dominated) electroretinogram responses were recorded to a 'white' light as a function of flash intensity. The a-wave data were fitted with a model based on photopigment transduction to obtain values for the parameters of log Rmax (the maximum response) and log S (sensitivity). Oscillatory potentials were measured to the cone-dominated high-intensity flashes. Standard clinical 30 Hz flicker electroretinogram responses were recorded using a Grass photostimulator. RESULTS: Analysis of rod and cone a-wave data showed that log Rmax and log S values were within the normal range in nearly all the patients. For some patients, oscillatory potentials were delayed beyond the normal range. CONCLUSION: These results provide little evidence for widespread photoreceptor abnormalities in primary open-angle glaucoma.
Dr. K. Holopigian, Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
6.7 Electro-ophthalmodiagnosis (Part of: 6 Clinical examination methods)