Electroretinographic effects of retinal dragging and retinal folds in eyes with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy

We evaluated the retinal function of retinal dragging (R(drag)) and radial retinal folds (R(folds)) in eyes with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) using full-field electroretinography (ERG). Seventeen eyes of nine patients with FEVR who had R(drag) or R(folds) were retrospectively studied. Eyes were classified into four groups according to the severity of the retinal alterations: Group 1, without R(drag) or R(folds) (5 eyes); Group 2, with R(drag) (4 eyes); Group 3, with R(folds) (6 eyes); and Group 4, with R(folds) in which all major retinal vessels were involved (2 eyes). The amplitudes of all ERG components and the implicit times of the photopic a- and b-waves and 30-Hz flicker responses were decreased or prolonged as the severity of the retinal alterations increased (P < 0.01). The photopic negative response was most severely affected and nearly undetectable in all eyes in Groups 3 and 4, although the other ERG components were detectable in all eyes in Group 3 and one eye in Group 4. These results suggest the decrease of retinal functions was correlated with the degree of severity of R(drag) and R(folds) in eyes with FEVR. In addition, the function of the retinal ganglion cells appears to be more severely affected compared with the others.