Congenital cataract

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Eye

Cataract - close-up of the eye

Congenital cataract

Definition:

A congenital cataract involves clouding of the lens of the eye that is present at birth.

Alternative Names:

Cataract - congenital

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

The number of people born with cataracts is low. Possible causes of congenital cataracts include the following:

Galactosemia
Chondrodysplasia syndrome
Congenital rubella syndrome
Down syndrome (trisomy 21)
Pierre-Robin syndrome
Familial congenital cataracts
Hallerman-Streiff syndrome
Lowe syndrome
Trisomy 13
Conradi syndrome
Ectodermal dysplasia syndrome
Marinesco-Sjogren syndrome

Although many diseases and inherited disorders can lead to congenital cataracts, in most patients, no specific cause can be identified.

Review Date: 7/24/2004
Reviewed By: Edward B. Feinberg, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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