title: [Myelin fibers in Zairian patients].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to determinate the characteristics of myelinated nerve fibres in Zairian blacks patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  a review of records of patients with myelinated nerve fibers seen from 1962 to 1994.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the relative incidence of myelinated nerve fibers was 0.02%. There were 13 (76%) male patients and 4 (24%) female patients. The average age at the moment of diagnosis was 32 years (range, 7 to 61 years). Myelinated nerve fibers were bilateral in 8 (47%) patients (16 of 25 eyes, 64%) and unilateral nerve fibers, 21 (84%) eyes contained a single lesion and 4 (16%) eyes contained multiple separate and distinct patches of myelinated fibers. Continuous lesions were present in 21 (84%) eyes and discontinuous lesions in 4 (16%) eyes. The 25 affected eyes varied in refractive error from a spherical equivalent of + 1.5 to - 16.00. The distribution of refraction was: emmetropia in 2 (12%) patients (2 eyes, 8%), simple myopia in 4 (24%) patients (5 eyes, 20%), myopia over 6 D with amblyopia in 6 (35%) patients (10 eyes, 40%), hypermetropia in 5 (29%) patients (8 eyes, 32%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  this study showed a low relative incidence of myelinated nerve fibers and the bilaterality of lesions was frequent.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie, Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa, Zaïre.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kaimbo
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mwilambwe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leys
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Missotten
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D002648:Child; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies