ABSTRACT
Visual evoked potential (VEP) is an electrophysiological exploration to detect the response to light stimulus and reveal visual pathways. Aim: VEP study in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), assessment of cortical and retinal activity, and identifying the role of this investigation in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: A case-control study conducted to investigate two groups: the first group (G1) included 78 patients (156 eyes) with different stages of diabetic retinopathy, and the second group (G0) included 78 healthy subjects (156 eyes). All subjects have been ophthalmologically and neurologically tested, also using visual evoked potentials. The patients have been exposed to mono-ocular, non-patterned stimuli, using LED-goggles glasses. Results: A serious increase in P100 and N75 wavelength latency in diabetic patients has been observed when compared to healthy subjects (p<0.05), and a N135 value increase in patients with diabetes mellitus (p=0.06). In addition, the amplitude of the P100 wave has changed in diabetic patients in comparison to healthy subjects. Conclusions: Changes in latency of waves registered on the VEP pathway and the amplitude of the P100 wave have been observed in patients with diabetic retinopathy (89.7%), which proved the importance of this study in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and the possibility to examine the prognosis of this disabling disease.
Subject(s)
Diabetic Retinopathy/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Visual/physiology , Visual Pathways/physiopathology , Adult , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Diabetic Retinopathy/diagnosis , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Photic Stimulation , Prognosis , Retina/physiopathology , Vision Tests , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and causes of blindness and visual impairment, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy among people aged ≥50â years in the Republic of Moldova using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness plus Diabetic Retinopathy ('RAAB+DR') techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 111 communities of people aged ≥50â years were randomly selected. In addition to standard RAAB procedures in all people with diabetes (previous history of the disease or with a random blood glucose level >11.1â mm/L (200â mg/dL)), a dilated fundus examination was performed to assess the presence and the degree of diabetic retinopathy using the Scottish DR grading system. RESULTS: 3877 (98%) people out of the 3885 eligible people were examined. The prevalence of blindness was 1.4% (95% CI 1.0% to 1.8%). The major causes of blindness and severe visual impairment were untreated cataract (58.2%), glaucoma (10.9%), and other posterior segment causes (10.9%). The estimated prevalence of diabetes was 11.4%. Among all people with diabetes, 55.9% had some form of retinopathy, and sight threatening diabetic retinopathy affected 14.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The RAAB+DR survey in the Republic of Moldova established that untreated cataract is the major cause of avoidable blindness in rural areas. This needs to be tackled by expanding the geographical coverage of cataract surgical services.
Subject(s)
Blindness/epidemiology , Cataract/epidemiology , Diabetic Retinopathy/epidemiology , Vision, Low/epidemiology , Visually Impaired Persons/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Blindness/etiology , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology , Diabetic Retinopathy/etiology , Female , Health Surveys , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Moldova/epidemiology , PrevalenceABSTRACT
Behçet's Disease is a chronic, systemic, relapsing disease, an occlusive vasculitis which is immune complex mediated. Ocular involvement is usually bilateral, often asymmetric, associated with the loss of visual functions. This case presentation is a way to reveal an uncommon debut and evolution of the pathology using diagnostic criteria for Behçet's Disease.
