Infants with Trisomy 13 Have Similar Types of Cataracts

FRIDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- Cataracts in infants with trisomy 13 have common characteristics that distinguish them from cataracts in other infants, according to a report in the June issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Gregg T. Lueder, M.D., of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, analyzed the medical records of four infants with trisomy 13, one of whom had cataract surgery and was treated for Coats disease.

The researcher found that all four infants had inferonasal iris colobomas and inferonasal cataracts involving the back of the lens. The cataracts in two patients involved pigmented tissue. One patient successfully underwent cataract surgery, and a detached retina was treated using cryotherapy.

"The cataracts in these infants with trisomy 13 had similar clinical features, which were different than those seen in other types of cataracts in infants," the author writes. "In addition, one patient had Coats disease, which has not been previously described in association with trisomy 13. The presence of inferonasal iris colobomas and adjacent sectoral cataracts in patients with other dysmorphic findings should prompt chromosomal analysis for trisomy 13."

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