[Typical retinitis pigmentosa with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (author's transl)]

Report of a case of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia combined with retinitis pigmentosa, optic atrophy, marked attenuation of the retinal vessels, maculopathy, and complicated cataract. Visual fields and acuity were severely impaired. The ophthalmoplegia was histologically identified as ocular myopathy. In a review of 181 cases with CPEO the disease was found to be associated with retinitis pigmentosa in 7 per cent and with atypical pigmentary retinopathy in 36 per cent of the cases. A distinction of these two types of retinal dystrophy is justified by the clinical features and may indicate different hereditary patterns.