Asymmetry of retinitis pigmentosa-related to initial optic disc vasculitis

A case of highly asymmetric retinitis pigmentosa is reported. Signs of pigmentary retinopathy appeared in the first eye following optic disc vasculitis or neuroretinitis of unknown etiology. Within 2 years the visual field became markedly restricted and the dark adaptation thresholds elevated. Twelve years later this eye was almost blind and the ERG was non-recordable. In the fellow eye, the first pigmentary changes were observed 5 years after the initial presentation, and the progression was slow. Nineteen years after the initial examination the visual field of the less affected eye was constricted to 30 degrees nasally and 60 degrees temporally, the dark adaptation threshold was only slightly elevated, and the full-field ERG was within normal range. It is possible that neuroretinitis or vasculitis of the optic disc caused the earlier onset and the more progressive course of pigmentary retinopathy in the initially affected eye.