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Research ArticleOpen Access

Did Evoked Potential Studies Lose Their Significance in the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis?

Volume 10 - Issue 2

Gönül Vural*1, Şadiye Gümüşyayla1, Hesna Bektaş1, Gülsüm Akdeniz2 and Orhan Deniz1

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    • 1Department of Neurology, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Turkey
    • 2Department of Biophysics, Electrophysiology Lab, Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey
    • *Corresponding author: Gönül Vural, Yildirim Beyazit University, Medical Faculty, Department of Neurology, Ankara 06800, Turkey

Received: October 06, 2018;   Published: October 22, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.10.001915

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Abstract

Objective: Since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) became central in the diagnosis and follow-up of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), evoked potentials (EP) studies appear to have lost their value, despite their ability to indicate the real-time status of the physiological system, and the nature of the lesion. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic utility of EPs and their correlation with MRI findings in our patients who were evaluated for suspected MS.

Materials and Methods: In this study, the medical records at first admission of 100 patients who were evaluated for suspected MS were analyzed retrospectively. The correlations of EPs with clinical and MRI findings were analyzed.

Results: The VEP test was more sensitive than orbital MRI in detecting optic nerve involvement. tSEP agreed with 81% of the MRI findings and mSEP with 55%. On the other hand, in patients with normal spinal MRI, mSEP and tSEP indicated functional impairment in 44% and 67% of the cases, respectively. Although MRI seems to be more useful in detecting brainstem abnormalities, only the BAEP study revealed subclinical involvement in 12% of the patients. Again, VEP indicated subclinical involvement in 18% and mSEP in 29% of the cases.

Discussion: Evoked potential studies are still valuable in revealing abnormalities that cannot be detected by conventional MRI techniques. It is an indisputable fact that EP is more sensitive than MRI in detecting optic nerve lesions. In particular, EPs are especially useful for diagnosis and follow-up when MRI cannot be performed or takes too much time.

Keywords: Evoked Potentials; Multiple Sclerosis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abbreviations: MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; MS: Multiple Sclerosis; EP: Evoked Potentials; VEP: Visual Evoked Potential

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