Document xp0vdQQbkX6mve4d1VZ874ob

August 16, 1965 Dr. Rutherford T. Johnstone Brockman Building 520 West Seventh Street Los ngeles, California 90014 Dear Red; The article in the Rev? England Journal of Medicine concerning stippling ' of the retina, as referred to in your letter of July 12, is another example of "hokum." It stirred up some investigation, I am told, and it excited a few people, but so far as I can establish, no one who has had ally experience in the examination of the eyegrounds of men subjected to significant degrees of exposure to lead has even considered the article to be worthy of comment. I cannot submit documentary evidence which would discredit these alleged observations, and therefore I would not put out a formal statement. I can tell you, however, that my clinical associates (such as Henry Ryd<a: and Bill Ashe, for example) have examined the eyegrounds in quite a series of frank cases of lead poisoning, without observing any such phenomena. I would not even cite my owm similar experience, in competition with such expert observers. Pallor is seen, of course, and this has been substantiated by examination of the eyegrounds of poisoned animals? likewise constriction of the retinal vessels is clearly evident? even hemorrhage is seen occasionally. Beyond these lesions nothing else has appeared. We might clinch the matter, if a few of us were to refer bona fide cases of plumbisra to certain expert ophthalmologists for some thorough going investigation, including microscopic examination. I shall call this to the attention of our clinical people for following up. Dr. Rutherford T. Johnstone -2- August iOi ly65 Incidentally, as you must knew, I have retired from the Directorship of this Department and Laboratory. Liter a period of consultation with Jack Bloomfield (Pan American Sanitary Bureau) in Santiago, Chile, I expect to return to a quiet corner in the Kettering Laboratory, in order to assemble and examine the data of our experimental work for the past fifteen years, to review the literature, and to write a monograph (possibly more than one). This may not be feasible here, for a number of reasons, but we shall see. Meanwhile, I can be reached through the Laboratory. ith best regards. sincerely, RAKsrms Robert A. Kehoe, M.D-