In September 1930, Royle1 stimulated interest in the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa by stating that the vision of patients with this disease could be improved by the surgical interruption of the sympathetic nerves to the eye. Our experience with this form of treatment has been limited to four cases. Although the results have not been particularly encouraging, we believe that they should be placed on record.
Success has attended the efforts of individual workers in treating retinitis pigmentosa with other measures, but their good results have not been duplicated by independent trials. Galvanism was used by Dor2 and Gunn.3 Mayou4 tried amyl nitrite, paracentesis and trephining; Doyne5 employed the operation for cataract, which was also used by Knapp6 in four cases, without improvement. Roentgen treatment was used in 1928 by Merkulow and Schick,7 acetylcholine by Corrado8 and female sex hormone by