Pigmentary glaucoma: a clinical review of anterior segment pigment dispersal syndrome.

Sixty-eight cases (44 males, 24 females) of anterior segment pigment dispersal syndrome are reviewed. Five patients had no rise in intraocular pressure, 38 had ocular hypertension and 25 had glaucoma as shown by optic disc cupping and field loss. All cases had heavy deposition of pigment in the drainage angle together with Krukenberg spindles and/or light reflux through the iris. Other evidence of anterior segment pigment dispersal was common. The condition was commonest in young adult males, but could present at any age and in women. Medical treatment was often successful initially, but continued to control pressure in only 17 of 42 patients. Laser trabeculoplasty helped some patients. Drainage operations of various types were successful in 19 of 23 cases. Iris angiography showed evidence of vascular hypoperfusion of the iris which probably precedes pigment dispersal and suggests that the ultimate aetiology may be a congenital deficiency of the mesodermal support tissues of the iris. Some degree of iris stromal atrophy is also common and may become marked. Pigment dispersal from the pigment epithelium of the iris occurs in susceptible individuals and may be associated with the insertion of the dilator muscle. The term anterior segment pigment dispersal seems appropriate as the condition is limited to the anterior segment.