The inheritance of the pigment dispersion syndrome in blacks.
OBJECTIVE
Evidence has indicated that pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) is inherited as an autosomal dominant disorder in white patients, often with a high degree of penetrance. Because heredity patterns in blacks are unknown, an investigation was carried out to study inheritance of PDS in this population.


METHODS
Six unrelated black adults (5 women, 1 man, age range 43-60 years) with PDS were identified from a primary eye care population at an inner city teaching clinic in Chicago, Illinois. Nineteen first-degree relatives (all siblings or children; age range 18-52 years) of these patients subsequently underwent thorough eye examination to look for signs of PDS.


RESULTS
Among the relatives, two (12%) showed evidence of the condition (these two patients belonged to different families): one was a 42-year-old daughter of a 60-year-old proband, and the other was the 49-year-old sister of a 47-year-old proband. Both exhibited definite signs of PDS in one eye only.


CONCLUSIONS
Evidence of expression of PDS among family members of black probands with PDS is provided. Incomplete penetrance of PDS among the black pedigrees may be suggested by these data.
Roberts
D K
DK
Illinois Eye Institute, Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago 60616, USA.
Meetz
R E
RE
Chaglasian
M A
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D017889:Exfoliation Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D014129:Trabecular Meshwork / Q000473:pathology; D001741:Black or African American