Predominance of Nystagmus and Blindness in Congenital Cataract Cases

Human visual system performs major functions when lens focuses light on retina. This light perception is possible due to the physiological and structural system of the eye. Any deformity in the development or structure of lens leads to visual loss. A congenital cataract is a cloudiness of the lens of the eye that a child is born with or develops soon after birth. It may occur due to developmental reasons or from infection, trauma or certain metabolic syndromes that may occur in womb. Between 8.3 to 25% of CC are believed to be inherited. CC have an approximately frequency of 1-15/10,000 live births and report for 8-39% for all the cases. Out of these about one third of CC are familial. Heredity cataracts are shown to account for between 8.3% and 25% of CC. Congenital cataracts are present since birth. A retrospective, analytical study was performed between October 2013 and April 2014 on all congenital cataract cases from Lahore seen during work at the Layton Rahamatullah Benevolent Trust (LRBT) hospital. The aim of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of blindness and nystagmus in patients of CC in areas of Lahore.