Familial retinal arteriolar tortuosity with retinal hemorrhage

The fourth pedigree of familial retinal hemorrhages and tortuosity of the retinal vasculature known to the authors is described. Autosomal dominant inheritance is likely. Fluorescein angiography and trypsin digestion of retinal tissue failed to reveal any primary alterations in the eye that could lead to clinically observed lesions. Pathogenesis of this syndrome remains obscure. Despite recurrent bleeding in and around the macula, vision customarily returned to normal. Evidence for a systemic hemorrhagic diathesis was absent.