COMPARISON OF VISUAL-EVOKED POTENTIALS ELICITED BY LIGHT-EMITTING-DIODES AND TV MONITOR STIMULATION IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS ANDPOTENTIALLY RELATED CONDITIONS

Visual evoked potentials elicited by reversal of a checkerboard patter n constructed of square, red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were compare d with a conventional black and white pattern displayed on a TV monito r in control subjects and in 71 patients with established or suspected multiple sclerosis. Both stimuli elicited distinct responses in the c ontrol groups: the latencies were longer with LED stimulation while th e amplitudes of the various components were differently altered. The f requency of abnormal responses among the patients was higher with LED stimulation than with TV stimulation, but the highest diagnostic yield was obtained when both methods were combined.