title: The objective assessment of visual contrast sensitivity by pattern reversal visual evoked potentials in diabetes.
abstract: Recent studies have described abnormalities of visual evoked potentials and pattern electroretinography in diabetics without retinopathy. The visual contrast sensitivity, determined by psychophysical tests, has proved to be abnormal in diabetic patients with and without clinical retinopathy. In this study we evaluated contrast sensitivity function using both electrophysiologic and psychophysical methods. The objective assessment of functional visual contrast sensitivity was superior to psychophysical evaluation in the detection of contrast sensitivity alterations. No relationships were found between contrast sensitivity dysfunction and abnormalities of pattern electroretinography or fluorescein angiography. Our data suggest that functional visual deficits might precede background retinopathy and that the involvement of foveal function is early and very frequent in diabetic patients, even if they have normal visual acuity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Pediatrics, Scientific Institute S. Raffaele, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lacerenza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merenda
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meschi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Somazzi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D002648:Child; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004596:Electroretinography; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005260:Female; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual
chemical_list: D005452:Fluoresceins