title: Evoked potentials in patients with Huntington's disease and their offspring. II. Visual evoked potentials.
abstract: Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) to full-field and half-field stimulation were recorded in a large sample of patients with Huntington's disease (n = 36) and subjects at risk (first-order offspring, n = 55) using a checkerboard pattern reversal stimulus. Whereas a clear diminution of the amplitudes found confirmed earlier findings in patients with Huntington's disease, further alterations of VEP wave forms consisted in the absence of asymmetric hemisphere lateralization to half-field stimulation (i) and severe distortion with amplification of the early NPN/PNP complexes (ii). Considering at least two different abnormal parameters necessary to represent a reliable indicator of the disease, 24 patients (67%) and 14 (25%) of the persons at risk exhibited pathological results. In contrast, only 2 among 36 patients (5%) but 30 (55%) among the offspring exhibited normal results. The diagnostic and predictive value of the investigation of VEPs in Huntington's disease is discussed.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hennerici
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hömberg
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lange
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D014794:Visual Fields