Ocular manifestations of sickle cell anaemia in Arab children.

A complete ophthalmic examination was carried out of 46 Arab children with various forms of sickle cell disease. Mild and infrequent signs in anterior and posterior segments were found, but no cases of sickle cell retinopathy of any kind were detected. These results were compared with the reported findings in black American children of African origin with the same disease. The probable explanations were the high prevalence of fetal haemoglobin in Arab sicklers, the rarity of sickle cell disease among the Arabs and the possible existence of a different gene.