The electroretinogram in chronic methyl alcohol poisoning in human beings.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION was to determine whether methanol poisoning produces changes in the electroretinogram which follow a consistent pattern and are of diagnostic significance. The electroretinogram (ERG) is a graphic tracing of a mass response from the retina upon stimulation by light. The electroretinogram is of value in studying diseases of the retina and can be used as an objective measurement of retinal function. Reproducible results can be obtained using the same electroretinographic technique. From what is known of the ERG, ganglion cells and optic nerve fibers do not contribute measurably to the response1'2; therefore a disease involving only those parts of the retina should be compatible with a normal ERG. Methanol poisoning is believed to be such a disease. It would follow that any changes consistently noted in the ERG in methanol poisoning are the result of pathologic changes to other parts of the retina. The study served the additional purpose of evaluating the clinical ERG techniques to be described on a group of patients where ERG changes, if present, would be expected to be subtle.