Evolution of visual evoked potentials in optic neuritis.

The visual evoked potential (VEP) latency was either abnormally prolonged or absent in the involved eye of 47 patients with optic neuritis. Twenty-two of these patients with known multiple sclerosis (MS), had similar abnormalities to 25 patients with no clinical evidence of MS. Follow-up clinical assessment and VEP were done 10 to 42 (mean 22) months later in 34 patients. In 15 of 34 patients with no VEP from the involved eye during initial examination, 6 returned to normal, 8 had prolonged latencies and 1 still had no response at follow up. Of 19 patients who initially had prolonged latencies in the involved eye, 6 returned to normal, 11 had prolonged latencies and 2 had no response at follow up. The VEP is helpful in confirming the diagnosis of ON. The examination must be performed when the patient is symptomatic or soon thereafter as 35% of our patients with an abnormal initial VEP had a normal VEP at follow up. This normalization was not related to the severity of the initial VEP abnormality.