The clinical picture of Eales' disease.

The clinical findings in 316 eyes with Eales' disease and 41 eyes true idiopathic periphlebitis were analyzed. Eales' disease differed clearly from idiopathic periphlebitis in a predominance of male patients, a marked tendency toward bilateral disease in males, the aspect of vascular sheathing and the absence of inflammatory signs from the vitreous body. The clinical picture of Eales' disease was characterized by avascular areas in the retinal periphery, followed posteriorly by microaneurysms, rope-ladder-like dilations of capillary channels, tortousity of neighbouring vessels and spontaneous choriortinal scars. The more pronounced finds were neovascularizations (84%) hemorrhages (58%), obliterated vessels (39%) and vascular sheathing (34%). In contrast to idiopathic periphlebitis, Eales' disease is considered a primary, non-inflammatory disorder of the walls of the peripheral retinal vessels, namely the shunt vessels.