Potpourri of retinopathies in rare eye disease – A case series

This case series describes the ocular and retinal manifestations of rare eye diseases in systemic syndromes. This observational case series consists of five patients with varied ophthalmic manifestations and documentation of imaging in rare pediatric and adult retinopathies. Two patients had Kearns Sayre syndrome (KSS) based on the classical triad of external ophthalmoplegia, pigmentary retinopathy, and onset before 20 years of age. In one patient of KSS, the mitochondrial retinopathy was seen in an asymmetric pattern, and the second patient presented with KSS after being mis-diagnosed as myasthenia gravis elsewhere. A case of Senior Loken syndrome in pediatric age is described in this series with varied ophthalmic manifestations ranging from retinitis pigmentosa to orbital abscess. This series also enlightens features of Hallervorden Spatz syndrome presenting with bull’s eye maculopathy and a case of spino-cerebellar ataxia type 7 presenting with pigmentary retinopathy.

Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome in two siblings diagnosed by the clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome (HSS) is a heredodegenerative disorder characterized by both progressive pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, dysarthric speech, and mental deterioration. No diagnostic biochemical test is yet available, and diagnosis of HSS can be confirmed only at autopsy by the characteristic neuropathology including abnormal iron storage, disordered myelination, and loss of brain substance. We present two siblings with clinical features consistent with HSS, in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated the deposition of iron in the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra thus allowing an antemortem diagnosis of HSS.