Objective Assessment of the Effect of Optical Treatment on Magnocellular and Parvocellular-biased Visual Response in Anisometropic Amblyopia

Early impairment of magnocellular visual pathways mediated by isolated-check visual evoked potentials in primary open-angle glaucoma: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To explore different performances in the magnocellular (MC) and parvocellular (PC) visual pathways in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and to objectively assess impairment in early stage of POAG.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This is a cross-sectional study. MC and PC visual pathways were assessed using isolated-check visual evoked potential (ic-VEP). Visual acuity, intraocular pressure, fundus examination, optical coherence tomography and visual field were measured. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), mediated by ic-VEP were recorded. The Spearman's correlation analysis was used to estimate the relationships between visual functions and structures. Receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves were used to estimate the accuracy in detection of early POAG.

RESULTS

60 participants (30 early POAG eyes and 30 age-matched control subjects) were recruited. MC visual pathway showed a non-linear response function, while PC visual pathway was a linear response function as contrast increased. Early POAG eyes exhibited significantly weaker initial contrast gains and lower maximum responses in the MC visual pathway (p=0.001, p=0.004, respectively). The SNRs at 8% and 32% depths of modulation (DOM) were significantly correlated with temporal-side retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness in early POAG in MC-biased stimulation (p=0.017, p=0.020, respectively). The areas under ROC of 16% DOM were 0.780 (sensitivity 80.0%, specificity 63.3%) with the cut-off SNR of 2.07.

CONCLUSIONS

The MC visual pathway was damaged in the early stage of POAG. The SNRs at 8% and 32% DOM of MC-biased stimulation were significantly correlated with temporal-side RNFL thickness in early POAG, which helped in understanding the mechanisms of visual impairment in the early stage of POAG.

Analysis of the improvement in monocular amblyopia visual acuity caused by the changes in non-amblyopia visual acuity in 74 adults

To observe the clinical phenomenon of amblyopia vision improvement in patients with monocular amblyopia over 18 years old after non-amblyopia diseases, analyze the conditions and causes of vision improvement, explore the plasticity of the adult optic nerve, and provide a clinical basis for the treatment of adult amblyopia. A total of 74 patients with monocular amblyopia combined with non-amblyopia visual acuity decline from 2018 to 2021 were collected. The patient's age, initial best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), pattern visual evoked potential examination results, and visual acuity regression were recorded. The BCVA of amblyopia was recorded every 3 months using an early treatment of diabetic retinopathy study visual acuity chart. In the 3rd month, BCVA increased by 16.2%, reaching 98% in the 9th month and 100% in the 12th months. According to the age of patients, the group aged 18 to 35 years was better than the group aged 35 to 60 years, whereas the group aged 35 to 60 years was better than the group aged over 60 years (P < .05). According to the comparison of initial visual acuity, the BCVA of the < 5 letter group was lower than that of the other 2 groups (P < .05). According to the pattern visual evoked potential results, the peak time of the < 10 ms group was better than that of the 10 to 20 ms group; the 10 to 20 ms group was better than that of the > 20 ms group; the peak decrease of the < 30% group was better than that of the 30% to 50% group; and the 30% to 50% group was better than that of the > 50% group (P < .05). The visual acuity regression of amblyopia in the 0.5 to 1-year group was higher than that in the other 2 groups (P < .05). This study confirms that adult amblyopia can still be cured under certain conditions. This visual plasticity is related to age, initial visual acuity, and excitability of the visual center. This study provides new clinical evidence and diagnostic ideas for the study of the pathogenesis of adult amblyopia.

Utility of isolated-check visual evoked potential technique in dysthyroid optic neuropathy

PURPOSE

To analyze the utility of isolated-check visual evoked potential (icVEP) for discriminating between eyes with dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) and eyes with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) but not DON.

METHODS

Forty-three eyes with TAO but not DON (as non-DON), fifty-three eyes with DON, and sixty healthy eyes (as controls) were included. Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity, refraction, color vision test, intraocular pressure measurement, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, RAPD, exophthalmometry measurements, pVEP test, icVEP test, standard automated perimetry, and clinical activity score classification of TAO, as well as demographic information, were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

In the DON group, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value of icVEPs decreased significantly compared with that of the non-DON group as well as control (p < 0.05). The SNR values under 8%, 16% and 32% depth of modulation (DOM) were significantly negatively correlated with BCVA (p < 0.05, r =  - 0.9 ~  - 0.6), papilledema (Y/N) (p < 0.05, r =  - 0.8 ~ 0.4) and DON (Y/N) (p < 0.001, r =  - 0.7 ~  - 0.5). The 8% DOM of icVEP had the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) (0.842) for discriminating DON from non-DONs. Meanwhile, decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that patients clinically benefit most from 8% DOM of icVEP. Furthermore, the 8% DOM of icVEP combing with papilledema (Y/N) and BCVA (Model 1) has significantly larger AUC than the 8% DOM of icVEP (p = 0.0364), and has better clinical benefit in DCA analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The SNR of 8% DOM from icVEP may represent a significant ancillary diagnostic method for DON detection. Furthermore, icVEP combined with papilledema (Y/N) and BCVA should be considered as a diagnostic model in future clinical practice.

Comparing isolated-check visual evoked potential, pattern visual evoked potential, and standard automated perimetry in dysthyroid optic neuropathy eyes

Objective

To determine the diagnostic ability of isolated-check visual evoked potential (icVEP), pattern visual evoked potential (pVEP), and standard automated perimetry (SAP) between dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) and thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) without DON (non-DON).

Methods

This is a case-control study, 49 bilateral patients (26 DON and 23 non-DON) were included. icVEP, pVEP, and SAP were conducted in all the subjects, icVEP parameters compared were signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) under 8, 16, and 32% depth of modulation (DOM). pVEP parameters compared were amplitude and latency. SAP parameters were mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), net reclassification index (NRI), integrated discrimination index (IDI), and decision curve analysis (DCA) were applied for analysis.

Results

In icVEP, values of SNR in DON were significantly smaller than non-DON (p < 0.05). In pVEP, P100 latent time in DON was significantly larger than non-DON (p = 0.0026). In SAP, value of PSD in DON was larger than non-DON (p = 0.0006), and value of MD in DON was smaller (p = 0.0007). AUC, NRI, and IDI among the three tests were not significantly different. DCA showed that SNR of icVEP under 8% DOM was the farthest from the two extreme curves.

Conclusions

icVEP, pVEP, and SAP have equal diagnostic capabilities to discern between DON and non-DON. In addition, icVEP may represent a significant ancillary diagnostic approach to DON detection, with more clinical benefit.