PubMed ID: 6824621
Author(s): Albert DM, Wagoner MD, Pruett RC, Nordlund JJ, Lerner AB. Vitiligo and disorders of the retinal pigment epithelium. Br J Ophthalmol. 1983 Mar;67(3):153-6. PMID 6824621
Journal: The British Journal Of Ophthalmology, Volume 67, Issue 3, Mar 1983
The association of vitiligo with inflammation of the uveal tract is well established. The relationship between vitiligo and hypopigmentation and/or degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) not secondary to ocular inflammation has not been adequately investigated. Sixty (27%) of 223 consecutive patients with vitiligo were found to have some evidence of RPE hypopigmentation ranging from mild, focal areas of involvement in most cases to extensive RPE degeneration with a retinitis pigmentosa-like syndrome in one patient. Fifteen (25%) patients complained of night blindness. Only 6 (4%) of 148 patients in a control group had similar funduscopic findings (p less than 0.001). None of these patients were symptomatic. There have been isolated reports of vitiligo occurring with tapetoretinal degeneration. We report 2 patients with both vitiligo and retinitis pigmentosa.