Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T02:11:48.308Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Serial Pattern Shift Visual Evoked Potentials in Multiple Sclerosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Werner J. Becker
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary and the EEG Laboratory, Calgary General Hospital, Calgary. Alberta
Irene M. Richards
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary and the EEG Laboratory, Calgary General Hospital, Calgary. Alberta
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Forty patients with MS initially tested in our laboratory were recalled for repeat PSVEP testing approximately two years later. Twelve normal controls were tested in a similar manner approximately two years apart. The PSVEP positive peak latency changed little in the 24 control eyes (mean 1.4 msec, range 0-6) over the study interval. Most MS patient eyes also showed little change in PSVEP latency over the two year study interval. Fifty-eight eyes changed 8 msec or less. Eighteen eyes showed a PSVEP latency increase of 10 msec or more. Six of these eighteen eyes were symptomatic (attack of clinical optic neuritis), twelve asymptomatic during the study interval. Symptomatic eyes tended to have greater latency increases during the study interval than asymptomatic eyes.

Significant latency increases occurred with equal frequency in previously normal eyes (normal PSVEP on first test) and abnormal eyes (abnormal PSVEP on first test or previous clinical optic neuritis). Significant latency increases occurred with greater frequency in patients with a mixed or progressive course than in patients with a remitting-relapsing course, and in patients with greater disability ratings (Kurtzke 3-7) than in patients with lower disability ratings (Kurtzke 0-2). Bilateral latency increases occurred during the study interval more frequently than expected by chance. Patient age and disease duration did not significantly influence the number of PSVEP latency increases seen during the study interval.

Four eyes decreased in latency by 10 msec or more during the study interval. All these eyes had had an episode of acute optic neuritis which began in the 5 weeks immediately preceding the 1st PSVEP test.

In our MS patients, 13% of eyes per year developed latency increases of 10 msec or more. These may represent new demyelinating lesions. If so, one-third of these lesions were clincally symptomatic.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1984

References

Asselman, P., Chadwick, D.W., Marsden, C.D. (1975). Visual evoked responses in the diagnosis and management of patients suspected of multiple sclerosis. Brain 98:261282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bajada, S., Mastaglia, F.L., Collins, D.W.K. (1980). Effects of induced hyperthermia on visual evoked potentials and saccade parameters in normal subjects and multiple sclerosis patients. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 43:819852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bostock, H., Sears, T.A. (1978). The intemodal axon membrane: Electrical excitability and continuous conduction in segmental demyelination. J. Physiol. 280:273301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bynke, H., Rosen, I., Sandberg-Wollheim, M. (1980). Correlation of visual evoked potentials, ophthalmological and neurological findings after unilateral optic neuritis. Acta. Ophthalmol. 58:673687.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cant, B.R., Hume, A.L., Shaw, N.A. (1978). Effects of luminance on the pattern visual evoked potential in multiple sclerosis. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 45:496504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chiappa, K. H. (1980). Pattern shift visual, brainstem auditory, and short latency somatosensory evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 30 (7: Part 2): 110123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clifford-Jones, R.E., Landon, D.N., McDonald, W.I. (1980). Remyelination during optic nerve compression. Trans. Ophthal. Soc. U.K. 100:274275.Google ScholarPubMed
Confavreux, G., Aimard, G., Devic, M. (1980). Course and prognosis of multiple sclerosis assessed by the computerized data processing of 349 patients. Brain 103:281300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cracco, R.Q., Cracco, J.B. (1978). Visual evoked potentials in man: Early oscillation potentials. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 45:731739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diener, H. Ch., Scheibler, H. (1980). Follow up studies of visual potentials in multiple sclerosis evoked by checkerboard and foveal stimulation. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 48:253265.Google Scholar
Foster, R.E., Whalen, C.C., Waxman, S.G. (1980). Reorganization of the axon membrane in demyelinated peripheral nerve fibers: morphological evidence. Science 210:661663.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gartner, S. (1953). Optic neuropathy in multiple sclerosis. Arch. Ophthalmol. 50:718726.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gledhill, R.F., McDonanld, W.I. (1977). Morphological characteristics of central demyelination and remyelination: A single fiber study. Ann. Neurol. 1:552560.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gouras, P., Link, Krista (1966). Rod and cone interaction in dark adapted monkey ganglion cells. J. Physiol. 184:499510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halliday, A.M., McDonald, W.I., Mushin, J. (1973). Visual evoked response in diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Br. Med. J. 4:661664.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harrison, B.M., McDonald, W.I. (1977). Remyelination after transient experimental compression of the spinal cord. Ann. Neurol. 1:542551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harter, M.R. (1970). Evoked cortical responses to checkerboard patterns: Effect of check-size as a function of retinal eccentricity. Vision Res. 10:13651376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hennerici, M., Wenzel, D., Freund, H.J. (1977). The comparison of small size rectangle and checkerboard stimulation for the evaluation of delayed visual evoked responses in patients suspected of multiple sclerosis. Brain 100:119136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hennerici, M., Wist, E.R. (1982). A modification of the visual evoked response method involving small luminance decrements for the diagnosis of demyelinatingdiseases. In: Courjon, J., Mauguiere, F., Revol, M. (Ed.) Clinical applications of evoked potential in neurology. Adv. Neurol. 32:433441.Google Scholar
Ikuta, F., Zimmerman, H.M. (1976). Distribution of plaques in seventy autopsy cases of multiple sclerosis in the United States. Neurol. 26: (6:Part 2) 2628.Google ScholarPubMed
Jeffreys, D.A., Axford, J.G. (1972a). Source locations of pattern-specific components of human visual evoked potentials. 1. Components of striate cortical origin. Exp. Brain Res. 16:121.Google ScholarPubMed
Jeffreys, D.A., Axford, J.G. (1972b). Source locations of pattern-specific components of human visual evoked potentials. 11. Components of extrastriate cortical origin. Exp. Brain Res. 16:2240.Google ScholarPubMed
Kjaer, M. (1980). Visual evoked potentials in normal subjects and patients with multiple sclerosis. Acta. Neurol. Scand. 62:113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuffler, S. (1953). Discharge patterns and functional organization of mammalian retina. J. Neurophysiol. 16:3768.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kupfer, C., Chumbley, L., Downer, J. De. C. (1967). Quantitative histology of optic nerve, optic tract and lateral geniculate nucleus of man. J. Anat. 101:393401.Google ScholarPubMed
Kurtzke, J.F. (1965). Further notes on disability evaluation in multiple sclerosis, with scale modifications. Neurology 15:654661.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, W.B., Small, D.G. (1979). Serial recording of visual and somatosensory evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis. J. Neurol. Sci. 40:1121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, W.B., Read, D.J., Pountney, E. (1979). Effect of raising body temperature on visual and somatosensory evoked potentials in patients with multiple sclerosis. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 42:250255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, W.I., Halliday, A.M. (1977). Diagnosis and classification of multiple sclerosis. British Medical Bulletin 33:48.Google Scholar
McDonald, W.I. (1977). Pathophysiology of conduction in central nerve fibers. In Desmedt, J.E. (Ed). Visual evoked potentials in man: New Developments, pp. 427–37.Google Scholar
Meienberg, O., Kutak, L., Smolenski, C., Ludin, H.P. (1979). Pattern reversal evoked cortical responses in normals. J. Neurol. 222:8193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ogden, T.E., Miller, R.F., (1966). Studies of the optic nerve of the rhesus monkey: Nerve fiber spectrum and physiological properties. Vision Res. 6:485506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Persson, H.E., Sachs, C. (1978). Provoked visual impairment in multiple sclerosis studied by visual evoked responses. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 44:664658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poser, CM. (1980). Exacerbations, activity and progression in multiple sclerosis. Arch. Neurol. 37:471474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potts, A.M., Hodges, D., Shelman, C.B.. Fritz, K.J., Levy, N.S., Mangnall, Y. (1972a). Morphology of the primate optic nerve. II. Total fiber size distribution and fiber density distribution. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 11:9891003.Google ScholarPubMed
Potts, A.M., Hodges, D.. Shelman, C.B.. Fritz, K.J., Levy, N.S., Mangnall, Y. (1972b). Morphology of the primate optic nerve. III. Fiber characteristics of the foveal outflow. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 11:10041016.Google Scholar
Prineas, J.W., Connell, F.. (1978). Remyelination in multiple sclerosis. Ann. Neurol. 5:2231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purves, S.J., Low, M. D., Galloway, J.. Reeves, B. (1981). A comparison of visual, brainstem auditory, and somatosensory evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis. Can. J. Neurol. Sci. 8:1519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasminsky, M. (1973). The effects of temperature on conduction in demyelinaled single nerve fibers. Arch. Neurol. 28:987292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shahrokhi, F., Chiappa, K.H.. Young, R.R. (1978). Pattern shift visual evoked responses. Two hundred patients with optic neuritis and/or multiple sclerosis. Arch. Neurol. 35:6571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K.J., Blakemore, W.F., McDonald, W.I. (1981). The restoration of conduction by central remyelination. Brain 104:383404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, K.J., Bostock, H., Hall, S.M. (1982). Saltatory conduction precedes remyelination in axons demyelinated with lysophosphatidyl choline. J. Neurol. Sci. 54:1331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walsh, J.C., Garrick, R., Cameron, J., McLeod, J.G. (1982). Evoked potential changes in clincally definite multiple sclerosis: a two year follow up study. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 45:494500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waxman, S.G., Bennett, M.V.L.(1972). Relative conduction velocities of small myelinated and non-myelinated fibers in the central nervous system. Nature New Biology 238:217219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waxman, S.G., Brill, M.H. (1978). Conduction through demyelinated plaques in multiple sclerosis: Computer simulations of facilitation by short internodes. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 41:408416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeese, J. A. (1977). Pattern visual evoked responses in multiple sclerosis. Arch. Neurol. 34:314316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed