[The indices from an electrophysiological study of the eye in herpetic lesion of the cornea].

Electrophysiologic studies were conducted in 34 patients with herpetic lesions of the cornea (35 eyes with the active process and 33 clinically healthy fellow eyes). The control group included 30 healthy persons (60 eyes). In the control group, the threshold of electric sensitivity of the eye was 25.1 mcA, on the average. In the examined groups, it increases to 31.9 mcA (p less than 0.0017) in the group of patients with herpetic keratitis and to 28.7 mcA (p less than 0.05) in the group of patients with clinically healthy fellow eyes. The average value of optic nerve lability was 54.5 Hz in the control group. Reduced lability was recorded in group I--48.6 Hz (p less than 0.001) and in group II--52.6 Hz (p less than 0.02). No statistically significant differences in electrographic values were found. The electrophysiologic studies of eyes with localization of herpetic process in the cornea have shown the involvement of internal layers of the retina and the optic nerve into the pathological process. Similar changes appear in the clinically healthy fellow eyes as well, but to a lesser degree. The determination of the threshold of electric sensitivity and lability of the optic nerve can be used for diagnosing changes in internal layers of the retina and the optic nerve in herpetic keratitis.