Neurological and developmental findings in children with cataracts
M. G. Pike, J. E. Jan and P. K. Wong
Department of Paediatrics, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Ninety-seven children who were born between 1954 and 1986 and presented to
the Visually Impaired Program of British Columbia's Children's Hospital,
Vancouver, Canada, with a primary ophthalmologic diagnosis of cataracts,
were assessed neurologically, ophthalmologically, audiologically, and
developmentally. Causal factors included prenatal infection (35 cases),
hereditary cataracts (22 cases), various syndromes and metabolic disorders
(9 cases), trauma (1 case), and unknown (30 cases). Ninety children were
diagnosed to have congenital cataracts while 7 acquired them. Findings
indicated that prenatal infection continues to be a cause of infantile
cataracts, despite rubella immunization; that prematurity is not, as has
been stated in the past, a cause of infantile cataract; and that careful
neurological, audiological, and developmental examination is vital in the
assessment of likely causes of this condition.
