Contrast sensitivity to stationary, sliding and alternating gratings in idiopathic epiretinal macular fibrosis

Abstract

The contrast sensitivity was studied in ten patients with unilateral idiopathic epiretinal macular fibrosis and was compared with the contrast sensitivity of the fellow healthy eyes. In the eyes with epiretinal fibrosis it was shown that the contrast sensitivity for stationary and sliding stimuli was reduced especially at high and intermediate spatial frequencies. The contrast sensitivity for alternating stimuli was reduced at high spatial frequencies as much as the temporal frequency was increased. A correlation between contrast sensitivity and visual acuity was found at almost all spatial frequencies, but it was stronger at intermediate spatial frequencies than at higher ones, confirming that contrast sensitivity measures a visual function partially independent from visual acuity. However, the shape of the contrast sensitivity curve in the eyes with epiretinal fibrosis was similar to that of normal eyes and this fact indicates that the form perception is globally compromised.

Key Words:

• idiopathic epiretinal macular fibrosis
• contrast sensitivity
• visual acuity