Comparison of pattern electroretinograms of glaucoma patients with parafoveal scotoma versus peripheral nasal step

Retinal ganglion cells are distributed disproportionately with retinal eccentricity. Pattern electroretinogram (PERG) stimuli resulted in reduced responses with more eccentric stimuli. Therefore, we investigated whether PERG amplitude is associated with the location of visual field (VF) defect in primary open-angle glaucoma. Data from Twenty-nine glaucoma patients with a parafoveal scotoma (PFS) within the central 10° of fixation, 23 glaucoma patients with a peripheral nasal step (PNS), and 27 normal control subjects were analyzed in this study. Electroretinograms (ERGs) were obtained using a commercial ERG stimulator (Neuro-ERG). The thickness of the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) was measured using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. A lower N95 amplitude was observed in both PFS and PNS compared to the normal control (Both P < 0.001). The N95 amplitude of the PFS group was significantly lower than that of the PNS group (P = 0.034). Average GCIPL thickness correlated positively with N95 amplitude (r = 0.368, P = 0.002), but did not correlate significantly with global mean sensitivity (r = 0.228, P = 0.073) or mean deviation on 24-2 standard automated perimetry (r = 0.173, P = 0.176). In conclusion, parafoveal VF defects were associated with the lower PERG amplitude. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the location of VF defects in evaluating PERGs of glaucoma patients.