Ocular findings in haemochromatosis.

HAEMOCHROMATOSIS is a rare condition, the chief clinical features of which are pigmentation of the skin, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus, and hypogonadism. The opportunity of examining the eyes of five patients in whom the diagnosis had been confirmed by liver biopsy arose through the kindness of my colleague, Dr. N. F. Coghill, who is incorporating the clinical and pathological investigations in a forthcoming publication. Detailed clinical histories have not, therefore, been included in the present communication. A review of the literature since 1930 has revealed very few references to the ocular findings. Maddox (1933) describes the retinal appearances ob-, served in four cases, and this reference is quoted by Duke-Elder (1940). Lawrence (1949), in his Banting Memorial lecture, commented upon the absence of vascular changes in the pure and primary forms of islet and pancreatic destruction, and contrasted these with appearances found in primary diabetes; he suggested that a common factor, perhaps the pituitary, might be responsible for both the vascular degeneration and the diabetes, and then referred to two casereports (relapsing pancreatitisSprague, 1947; haemochromatosis -Stawell, personal communication), in which the retinal chan-ges of diabetes were observed.