Osamu Katsumi

Retinal function in birdshot retinochoroidopathy

Abstract The electroretinograms (ERGs) of 15 patients with birdshot retinochoroidopathy varied from supernormal to non‐recordable, depending upon the severity and the stage of the disease. The abnormal ERGs were characterized by a disproportionate decrease of the b‐wave amplitude compared with the a‐wave amplitude, demonstrating the negative (‐) type response. This distinct ERG pattern has not been observed in any other type of uveitis or chorioretinitis, and appears specific to birdshot retinochoroidopathy. ERG findings indicate that in birdshot retinochoroidopathy the neural layers of the retina are more diffusely and severely involved than the receptor‐retinal pigment epithelium‐choroid complex. In the most advanced stage, the patients becomes night blind with a non‐recordable ERG, a situation that is essentially the same as retinitis pigmentosa, except that pigmentation is conspicuously absent in the fundus.

Comparison of Snellen acuity and objective assessment using the spatial frequency sweep PVER

Abstract• Background: We compared the vision objectively assessed by spatial frequency sweep pattern-reversal visual-evoked response (SPVER) with the Snellen acuity in patients. • Methods: SPVER acuity and Snellen acuity were measured in 100 patients with various ocular pathologies, including macular diseases, diffuse retinal degeneration, optic nerve diseases, glaucoma, and high myopia. For SPVER, 10 sinusoidally modulated vertical gratings were presented as stimuli. The responses were averaged and displayed through the discrete Fourier transform on the monitor display. The PVER acuity was determined by extrapolating the SPVER amplitude-spatial frequency function to baseline. • Results: Vision ranged from 20/15 to 20/400 with Snellen acuity, and from 20/25 to 20/190 with SPVER. The overall correlation between the two acuities wasr=0.666. The correlation varied fromr=0.895 in eyes with glaucoma tor=0.436 in eyes with optic nerve disease. Seventy-seven eyes (77%) had a visual acuity agreement of within 1.0 octave between the two measurements. • Conclusion: The SPVER acuity and the Snellen acuity correlated to a certain degree. Discrepancies were found in certain diseases, with the highest disparity in patients with optic nerve disease. We conclude that the SPVER is effective in estimating vision objectively, particularly in patients in whom the standard Snellen test is impossible to perform or yields unreliable results.

Neurovisual abnormalities preceding the retinopathy in patients with long-term type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Abstract. Background: Changes in the retina caused by diabetes may lead to visual impairment in dim light, even with good visual acuity and visual fields. To evaluate the visual abnormalities preceding the retinopathy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), we applied electrophysiological methods. Methods: The visual evoked responses were recorded with sinusoidally modulated vertical gratings at 10 spatial frequencies presented sequentially on a high-resolution monitor in patients with type 1 DM and in normal volunteers. Similarly, the contrast visual evoked responses of 10 contrast levels were recorded at five spatial frequencies. Both amplitudes at the second harmonic were calculated by discrete Fourier transform. The visual acuity and contrast thresholds were determined objectively. Results: There was dissociation between the Snellen and the estimated visual evoked response acuity measurements in patients with diabetes (r2=0.077, P=0.44). The saturation phenomena were observed at lower levels of contrast stimuli than in normal individuals at. 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 and 8.0 cycles per degree (P=0.0001). The contrast sensitivity function was deeply abnormal in all tested patients despite the metabolic control. The values of the area under the curve of the visual evoked response amplitude–contrast level function at five spatial frequencies were smaller in patients with DM than in the control group (P<0.05) at all spatial frequencies tested. Conclusions: Patients with type 1 DM without retinopathy showed significant lower amplitude of the visual evoked responses at all spatial frequencies tested, with the saturation phenomena observed at lower level of contrast stimuli. In addition, there was a dissociation between the sweep visual evoked responses and the Snellen acuity measurements. A significant and nonselective neuronal visual loss involving the visual pathway precedes the ophthalmoscopically detectable retinopathy in patients with type 1 DM.

Aniseikonia and Stereoacuity in Pseudophakic Patients: Unilateral and Bilateral Cases

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of intraocular lens (IOL) implant procedures, analyzing visual function of the operated eyes and the resulting binocular vision. METHOD The authors measured aniseikonia and stereoacuity in patients with both bilateral and unilateral posterior chamber intraocular lenses (PC IOLs). The aniseikonia was measured with the New Aniseikonia Test; the stereoacuity was evaluated with the Titmus Stereotest. RESULTS In 41 patients with bilateral PC IOLs, aniseikonia measured with the New Aniseikonia Test ranged from 0% to 4% (mean, 0.76%; standard deviation = 1.04%). The average stereoacuity evaluated with the Titmus test was 7.68 circles (less than 60 seconds; range, greater than 800 to 40 seconds of arc), with 36 of 41 patients (87.8%) showing a stereoacuity less than or equal to 100 seconds of arc. In 37 patients with unilateral PC IOLs, the aniseikonia ranged from 0% to 6% (mean, 0.97%; standard deviation = 1.13%). Their stereoacuity also ranged from greater than 800 to 40 seconds (mean, 7.67 circles) (less than 60 seconds). In this group, 34 of 37 (91.8%) patients showed a stereoacuity less than or equal to 100 seconds of arc. CONCLUSION Although the problem of aniseikonia still remains, a significant number of patients attain good binocular function after unilateral and bilateral PC IOL implantation.

Binocular function in unilateral aphakia: correlation with aniseikonia and stereoacuity

Aniseikonia and stereoacuity were measured in patients with unilateral aphakia, most of whom were postoperative senile cataract cases. The New Aniseikonia test was used to evaluate aniseikonia and the Titmus Stereotest to measure stereoacuity. Ninety cases were studied, 57 (63.3%) of which had intraocular lens (IOL) implants; 27 (30%) had extended-wear soft contact lenses; and six (6.7%) had spectacle lenses. In the IOL group, aniseikonia averaged 2.8%, and 39 patients (68.4%) had good stereoacuity. In the contact lens group, aniseikonia averaged 4.6%, and 11 (40.7%) had good stereoacuity. In the spectacle lens group, aniseikonia averaged 17.8%; none of the patients had good stereoacuity. The authors concluded that in cases with unilateral aphakia, correction with an IOL implant is superior to the other alternatives in achieving good binocular function.

Spatial frequency sweep pattern reversal VER acuity vs Snellen visual acuity: Effect of optical defocus

The effect of artificially induced image defocusing on visual acuities (VAs) measured by spatial frequency sweep pattern reversal visual evoked response (SPVER) and Snellen measurement was studied in six normal subjects. The steady-state SPVER was recorded using vertical gratings of 10 different spatial frequencies ranging from 0.52 to 30.36 c/deg. The SPVER acuity was compared with Snellen acuity (SA) measured under the same conditions of optical defocus. With moderate defocusing [< + 1.0 diopter (D), VA > 20/40], the SPVER acuities were equal to or poorer than the SAs. With more defocus (> + 1.5 D, VA < 20/70), the SPVER acuities became better than the SAs. The discrepancies between the SA and SPVER acuities may be the result of the influence of the parafoveal area on the SPVER at lower visual acuity levels.

Tonometry in Pediatric Patients: A Comparative Study Among Tono-pen, Perkins, and Schiötz Tonometers

Measuring the intraocular pressure (IOP) in children can be difficult. We compared the accuracy of IOP measurements in pediatric patients using three tonometers: Perkins, Schiötz, and Tono-pen. Seventy-seven children (132 eyes; average age, 1 year, 7 months; range, 1 month to 60 months), mainly afflicted with retinopathy of prematurity (107 eyes), were evaluated. A good correlation (r = 0.867) was found between the Tono-pen and the Perkins tonometers. No statistical difference was found between the mean difference of IOP values obtained with the Tono-pen and the Perkins (P > .05). The Schiötz measurements were significantly higher than those obtained with the Perkins and the Tono-pen tonometers (P < .05). We concluded that the Tono-pen tonometer has a higher correlation coefficient, comparable to the Perkins tonometer, and can be used reliably to assess IOP in pediatric patients.

Electrophysiological similarities between two eyes with X-linked recessive retinoschisis

Electroretinograms (ERG) and electro-oculograms (EOG) were studied in 88 eyes of 44 male patients with X-linked recessive retinoschisis. Differences of fundus appearance, ERG, and EOG between the eyes of each patient were analyzed. Fundus abnormalities were symmetrical in 77.3% of the cases. The amplitude of the ERG a-wave was normal in 26.1% and was abnormally low in 73.9%. The amplitude of the b-wave was below normal in all eyes; thus a small b-wave/a-wave ratio, which is characteristic of X-linked recessive retinoschisis, was observed in every case. The light peak to dark trough (LP/DT) ratio of the EOG was normal in 90.8% of the cases. The relative electrophysiological differences between the two eyes were calculated and showed that a-wave amplitude was not different between eyes in 75.0% of the cases; b-wave amplitude was not different in 77.3% of the cases; b-wave/a-wave ratio was symmetrical in 93.2% of the cases; and the LP/DT ratio was consistent between eyes in 86.8% of the cases. These results suggest that in most cases of X-linked recessive retinoschisis the fundus appearance, ERG, and EOG are similarly affected in both eyes of the patient.

Snellen Visual Acuity versus Pattern Reversal Visual-Evoked Response Acuity in Clinical Applications

We compared the best-corrected Snellen acuity (SA) and the pattern reversal visual-evoked response (PVER) acuity in normal subjects and patients. Forty-two eyes of 42 normal subjects were controls; 457 eyes of 329 patients comprised the patient group. A steady-state stimulus with five check sizes ranging from 160 to 10 min in 1.0-octave steps was used. The PVER acuity was derived from the best-fit linear function relating the amplitude to the log-adjusted check size. Three intercepts of 0, 1 and 2 microV were used in both groups, and the PVER acuities were called P0, P1 and P2. The SAs in normal subjects ranged from 20/15 to 20/20 (mean, 20/18.3) and in patients from 20/15 to 20/1,600 (mean, 20/56.9). In normals, the P0 showed the best agreement with the SA (mean acuity difference, +0.34 octave). The SA and P0 agreed within +/- 2.0 octaves in 33/42 (78.6%) eyes. In patients, the P0 also showed the best agreement with the SA; 306/457 (67.0%) eyes showed an acuity difference within +/- 2.0 octaves. Unlike normals, 83/457 (18.2%) eyes showed an acuity difference > -3.0 octaves. These eyes mostly had optic nerve disease with a flattened PVER amplitude-check size function curve. The P0 seems to correlate better with SA than P1 and P2, but this analytical method may be less effective in the presence of certain pathologic conditions.

Correlation of electroretinographic and fluorescein angiographic findings in unilateral central retinal vein obstruction

Abstract• Background: In central retinal vein obstruction (CRVO), electroretinogram (ERG) abnormalities and extensive retinal capillary dropout (CD) in the fluorescein angiogram (FA) are good indicators of retinal ischemia. We retrospectively studied patients with unilateral CRVO and compared the ERG and FA results • Methods: Single white flash ERG, photopic ERG, scotopic ERG and flicker ERG were recordered in 30 cases of unilateral CRVO. We analyzed the correlation between the ERG results and the presence/absence of extensive CD • Results: The ERG b/a-wave amplitude ratios, photopic and scotopic b-wave amplitudes, and flicker amplitudes were significantly smaller (P<0.05) in eyes with extensive CD (n=12, 40%), than in eyes without (n=18, 60%). When the photopic or scotopic b-wave amplitudes were normal or supernormal, extensive CD on FA was absent in all eyes. When the b/a-wave ratios were ≥ 1.0 or when the b-wave amplitudes with white flash or flicker amplitudes were normal or supernormal, extensive CD was present in less than 32% of eyes • Conclusion: These results suggest that the ERG results, especially the b/awave amplitude ratio, are significantly correlated with the presence/absence of CD on FA in CRVO.