Effect of age on short-wavelength sensitive cone electroretinogram and long- and middle-wavelength sensitive cone electroretinogram

Using a light-emitting diode (LED) built-in contact lens electrode, we studied the effect of age on short-wavelength sensitive cone electroretinograms (S-cone ERG) and long- and middle-wavelength sensitive cone ERGs (LM-cone ERG). We recorded ERGs in 31 pseudophakic subjects to avoid the effect of yellowing in the human crystalline lens. The intensities of our stimuli were on the asymptote of the intensity-response curve. Linear regression analysis against age was carried out on the S-cone ERG b-wave, and the LM-cone ERG a-, b-, and d-waves. We found significant age-dependent reduction in the amplitude of the S-cone ERG b-wave, and the LM-cone ERG a- and d-waves, significant prolongation in the peak time of the S-cone b-wave and the LM-cone ERG b-wave, significant increase in the b/a ratio of the LM-cone ERG, but no significant age correlation between the LM-cone ERG a-wave and the amplitude of the b-wave. Our results provide evidence that age-related changes in S- and LM-cone systems begin in early adulthood in the human eye. A significant increase in the b/a ratio suggests that off-bipolar cells are more vulnerable to aging than on-bipolar cells. Copyright (C) 1998 Japanese Ophthalmological Society.