PINEAL CHANGE IN REESE'S SYNDROME

Two autopsy cases of Reese's syndrome showing conspicuous retinal dysplasia are reported. Stress Is laid on pineal changes seen in both, one of which was severe devastation assumed to be hypoplasia and the other was inability of its identification at autopsy being explained as aplasia or severe hypoplasia of this particular organ.
Anomalous changes of various degrees have been reported to exist not rarely in various organs including the central nervous system in this syndrome, but the most constant and important one is believed to be retinal dysplasia frequently associated with microphthalmia. On the other hand, the pineal gland is said to be closely related to the eye, which fact seems to have been already accepted with lower animals but only postulated, although with considerable reasonability, in higher animals. Our hypothesis is that the pineal hypoplasia of our cases may not have occurred simultaneously by chance, but, may have resulted from close relation to their ocular hypoplasia.
The moot phenomenon, pineal change in Reese's syndrome, should be confirmed in other cases before being established, and should this be accepted, it would be adequate to add pineal hypoplasia as another Important finding of Reese's syndrome.