Gyrate atrophy of the choroid and retina.

Gyrate atrophy of the choroid and retina is characterized by autosomal recessive inheritance, progressive chorioretinal atrophy beginning in late childhood, and hyperornithinemia with ornithinuria caused by deficient ornithine aminotransferase activity. In this paper, four patients with gyrate atrophy are described. All patients had visual impairment, mental retardation, hyperornithinemia, hypolysinemia, ornithinuria and lysinuria. The first case had hypermetropic astigmatism in contrast to other reported gyrate atrophies. These are the first reported cases from Turkey, but gyrate atrophy may not be rare in Turkey since the frequency of some other metabolic disorders has also been reported to be high. It is suggested that gyrate atrophy must be considered in all patients with chorioretinal atrophy.