Relationship Between Syndrome Differentiation of Diabetic Retinopathy and Pattern of Visual Evoked Potential

Objective To explore the relationship between syndrome differentiation of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and pattern of visual evoked potential (P-VEP).Methods One hundred and eighty-six eyes from 104 cases of DR were allocated to three groups according to TCM syndrome:qi-yin deficiency (Group A),qi stagnation and blood stasis (Group B) and yin-yang deficiency (Group C).P-VEP induced by various space frequency (0.388?Hz,1.55?Hz) and pictures of various colors (black/white,red/magenta,blue/green) was observed in the three groups and compared with that in the normal control group (Group D).Results One hundred and three eyes in Group A mainly manifested as simple DR,47 eyes in Group B and 36 eyes in Group C mainly manifested as proliferative DR.The latency of P 100 was prolonged and the amplitude was decreassed in all groups of DR,but the latency of P 100 was much prolonged in Group B,the amplitude was much decreased in Group C and the changes were less in Group A.Conclusion P-VEP varies in different TCM syndrome types of DR,and determination of P-VEP under various stimulating conditions may serve as an index of syndrome differentiation of DR.