Macular dysfunction in drusen maculopathy assessed with multifocal electroretinogram and optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: To study the relationship between macular function assessed by multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) and morphological changes evaluated with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus photography in patients with drusen maculopathy. METHODS: Ten patients (age 71 ± 5 years) with drusen maculopathy were compared to fifteen healthy control patients (age 67 ± 7 years). One eye per patient was examined with OCT, color fundus pictures, and mfERG (103 hexagons) recorded in nine areas corresponding to the nine areas of the OCT retinal map. Drusen density for every separated area was registered. RESULTS: All nine areas in the maculopathy group demonstrated prolonged implicit time compared to healthy controls; the mean value for the maculopathy group was 31.3 milliseconds (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 30.9–31.6) vs 27.9 milliseconds (95% CI: 27.5–28.2; P = 0.006) for the control group. The amplitude in the foveal area was lower in the maculopathy group; the mean value for the maculopathy group was 25.1 nV/deg(2) (95% CI: 18.4–31.7) vs 33.9 nV/deg(2) (95% CI: 27–40.9; P = 0.03) for the control group. mfERG in the maculopathy group demonstrated no differences in areas with or without drusen. There was no correlation between the retinal thickness assessed with OCT and the mfERG response. CONCLUSION: Eyes with drusen maculopathy demonstrated functional changes compared to healthy controls evaluated with mfERG. Drusen seems to be associated with general macular dysfunction.