Grant: Operating Grant

The electroretinogram (ERG) identifies the electrical response evoked by the retina in response to a light stimulus of adequate energy. The ERG is to the retina what the electrocardiogram is to the heart. The ERG is essential not only for the diagnosis but also for the proper management of patients affected with a variety of retinal distrophies. Clinical ERG protocols usually require that photopic and scotopic ERGs be obtained from patients in order to assess rod and cone functions separately, as there are some retinopathies that can hinder one of the two retinal pathways preferentially, at least in the initial phase of the disease. However, with progression usually one of the two retinal pathways is lost to the pathology, leaving the complementary one solely responsible for visually guided behaviors. Significantly reduced ERGs, with ill-defined morphologies, are often the only retinal signal remaining from patients affected with severe degenerative retinopathies. These residual retinal responses are often challenging to analyze. The aim of this research proposal is to demonstrate that use of newly developed mathematical tools can help in extracting, from residual ERGs, valuable clinical information. The possibility of using residual ERGs to stage the progression of severe debilitating retinopathies will allow us to construct a disease-symptoms classification system that will enable us to offer more accurate diagnoses and prognoses for the affected patients. This classification system will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the management of these patients, especially if cures become available.