Crystalline retinopathy

A 23-year-old woman had a chorioretinal dystrophy with retinal crystalline deposits, geographic areas of atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium, choriocapillaris in the posterior pole, and fine pigment clumps in the midperiphery. Crystals were also observed in the periphery of the corneal stroma and epithelium. A diagnosis of crystalline retinopathy was made. Visual acuity and visual fields worsened over a two-year period. This is the first report of Bietti's crystalline retinopathy in the Middle East. The literature shows that corneal crystalline deposits are seen more frequently in Occidentals than in Orientals with this condition. Autosomal recessive inheritance with low gene frequency is favored in this disease, which has a worldwide distribution and in which a history of parental consanguinity is frequently observed.