Racial incidence of pseudoexfoliation of the lens capsule.

The condition of pseudoexfoliation of the lens capsule seems common in some racial groups, and a high incidence of the condition has been reported in Scandinavia (Ladekarl, I965; Hansen and Sellevold, I968; Klouman, I967; Thomassen, I949; Backhaus and Lorentzen, I966; Horven, i966a), and in Greece (Joannides, Katsourakis, and Velissaropoulos, I96i). This raises the question whether pseudoexfoliation is restricted to some racial groups or is common in persons of most nationalities. Pseudoexfoliation of the lens capsule (Dvorak-Theobald, I954) is often associated with glaucoma so that the question is of some importance. Recently the condition has been called fibrillopathia epitheliocapsularis (Bertelsen, I966; Bertelsen and Ehlers, I969; Bertelsen, Drablos, and Flood, I964), and it had earlier been called exfoliation of the lens capsule (Irvine, I940, Gradle and Sugar, I 947; Garrow, I 938; Sobhy Bey, I 932). In Australia a population ofdiverse racial origin exists as a result ofextensive immigration since the second world war, and this has made it possible to compare the incidence of pseudoexfoliation in different racial groups.