Progressive essential iris atrophy, Chandler's syndrome, and the iris nevus (Cogan-Reese) syndrome: a spectrum of disease.

Progressive essential iris atrophy, Chandler's syndrome, and the iris nevus (Cogan-Reese) syndrome are considered to be variations of a single disease process, which is characterized by abnormalities of the cornea, anterior chamber angle, and iris. In each variation, the typical patient is a white woman with unilateral disease, negative family history, and an onset of symptoms in early to middle adulthood. Since the membrane theory of Campbell suggests that the disease is a fundamental abnormality of the corneal endothelium, rather than the iris, the term "iridocorneal endothelial syndrome," as proposed by Yanoff, may be an appropriate inclusive term for the spectrum of disease, although further study of the pathogenesis is needed. For each variation of the disease, corneal edema and secondary glucoma are both treated primarily by medical or surgical reduction of the intraocular pressure, although penetrating keratoplasty is occasionally required for cases with advanced corneal edema.