Recurrences and bilaterality in the multiple evanescent white-dot syndrome

Multiple evanescent white-dot syndrome recurred in two men (23 and 44 years of age, respectively). One patient had a recurrence in the previously affected eye three years after the initial visual loss; the other patient had two recurrences in the contralateral eye, each separated by two years. Two additional patients (a 28-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man) had bilateral but asymmetric acute involvement. Computerized visual study showed a loss of retinal sensitivity in both eyes, correlating poorly with the clinically observed lesions. Results of electro-oculography were abnormal in the patients with bilateral involvement; results of electro-retinography were abnormal only in the more severely involved eye. Systemic investigation in the two bilateral cases was unrevealing. None of the four patients had experienced a preceding influenza-like illness and all had complete recovery of vision within four to six weeks.