Abstract
This study reports electroretinogram (ERG) data in a septuagenarian population. Fifty healthy adults without diabetes or dementia aged 70–79 years underwent standardised electrophysiological testing incorporating current ISCEV Standards as baseline assessment for the OPAL (Older People And n-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) study. These data were compared with those from 53 healthy adults aged 20–50 years. Amplitudes and peak times of the major components were assessed. There were no significant differences in amplitude or peak time between sexes or between eyes. ERG amplitudes were 25–40% smaller and peak-times were longer in the older compared with the younger age group. In all participants, the bright flash ERG b-wave amplitude had the highest variability; the bright flash ERG a-wave peak time had the lowest. ERGs in a septuagenarian age group show 25–40% lower amplitude than those of a 20 to 50-year-old group and are of longer peak time. With an increasingly ageing population involved in clinical trials, and the potential use of ERG in the assessment both of efficacy and safety in forthcoming therapeutic interventions, it is important that the effects of age are given adequate consideration.
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Acknowledgments
The funding for the OPAL study was provided by the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (NO5053). The United Kingdom National Health Service Research and Development provided service support costs. Funding was also provided by the National Institute for Health Research UK to the Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology based at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
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Neveu, M.M., Dangour, A., Allen, E. et al. Electroretinogram measures in a septuagenarian population. Doc Ophthalmol 123, 75–81 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-011-9282-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10633-011-9282-1