Dihydroxypropoxymethyl guanine in the treatment of AIDS related retinitis due to cytomegalovirus.

Retinal changes in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) have frequently been described recently. The changes include cotton wool spots, superficial and deep retinal haemorrhages, perivasculitis, and a type of retinitis presumed to be caused by cytomegalovirus. 1-3 In our experience five out of seven eyes have progressed unremittingly to complete blindness, and until recently no effective treatment had been found for this disease. The nucleoside 9-(1, 3 dihydroxy 2-propoxymethyl) guanine is being investigated as a possible treatment. Our cases confirm the findings of Palestine et a1 that this drug is effective in treating retinitis caused by cytomegalovirus but that recurrence is likely after a single course of the drug.