axial myopia

Glaucoma, Congenital Primary A

Clinical Characteristics
Ocular Features: 

This may be the most common type of early (infantile, congenital) glaucoma.  Elevated intraocular pressure may be present at birth but sometimes is not evident until the first year of life or in some cases even later.  Irritability, photophobia, and epiphora are early signs.  The globe is often buphthalmic, the cornea is variably cloudy, and breaks in the Descemet membrane (Haab striae) may be present.  Frequently the iris root is inserted anteriorly in the region of the trabecular meshwork.  The anterior chamber often appears abnormally deep.  Early reports of a membrane covering the angle structures have not been confirmed histologically.  The mechanism causing elevated IOP seems to be excessive collagen tissue in the anterior chamber angle that impedes normal aqueous outflow.   The pressure is usually in the range of 25-35 mmHg but this is variable as the course can be intermittent.  It should be considered a bilateral disease although about one-fourth of patients have only unilateral elevations of pressure even though trabecular abnormalities are present.

Optic cupping may begin temporally but the more typical glaucomatous cupping eventually occurs.

Systemic Features: 

No consistent systemic abnormalities are associated with primary congenital glaucoma.  However, it is important to note that glaucoma is a feature of many congenital malformation syndromes and chromosomal aberrations.

Genetics

Congenital glaucoma of this type can result from both homozygous (25%) and compound heterozygous mutations (56%) in the CYP1B1 gene on chromosome 2 (2p22-p21) which codes for cytochrome P4501B1.

Evidence from many sources suggests that congenital glaucoma of this type is an autosomal recessive disorder. Parental consanguinity is common, the segregation ratio is approximately 25%, and the occurrence of congenital glaucoma among all offspring of two affected parents can be cited as support for this mode of inheritance.  Many cases occur sporadically but this is consistent with expectations in small human sibships.  Curiously, though, males are affected more often than females.

Another autosomal recessive infantile (congenital) glaucoma (600975), GLC3 or type B, is caused by mutations in GLC3B located at 1p36.2-p36.1.  A third locus at 14q24.3 has also been proposed  for GLC3, type C.  Autosomal recessive primary congenital glaucoma (so-called) type D (613086) is caused by a mutation in LTBP2 located at 14q24 near the GLC3C locus and heterozygous mutations in TEK are responsible for type E (617272).

Other modes of inheritance have been described and, for now, this form of glaucoma, like others, has to be considered a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disorder pending additional genotyping.  Early onset glaucoma is also a feature of numerous malformation and chromosomal disorders.

Pedigree: 
Autosomal recessive
Treatment
Treatment Options: 

Some of the usual glaucoma drugs are ineffective as a result of obstruction to aqueous flow through the trabecular meshwork so that surgical treatment is the therapy of choice in most cases.   Monitoring of axial length has been proposed as helpful in gauging the effectiveness of pressure control.  In some patients the pressure normalizes spontaneously. 

It is important in the evaluation of patients with glaucoma that systemic evaluations be done because of the frequent syndromal associations.

References
Article Title: 

Congenital glaucoma and CYP1B1: an old story revisited

Alsaif HS, Khan AO, Patel N, Alkuraya H, Hashem M, Abdulwahab F, Ibrahim N, Aldahmesh MA, Alkuraya FS. Congenital glaucoma and CYP1B1: an old story revisited. Hum Genet. 2018 Mar 19. doi: 10.1007/s00439-018-1878-z.

PubMed ID: 
29556725

Stickler Syndrome, Type II

Clinical Characteristics
Ocular Features: 

Virtually all (85%) patients have a nonprogresssive axial myopia.  The vitreous degeneration has a beaded pattern without the veils of type I, claimed by some to be important in the distinction of the two types.  Paravascular lattice retinopathy is seen in 38% of patients and 64% have cataracts, sometimes with wedge opacities similar to those in type I Stickler syndrome.  Nearly half (42%) of patients are reported to have retinal detachments.

Systemic Features: 

Hearing loss occurs early and many individuals (80%) eventually require hearing aids.    Midline clefting is present frequently with bifid uvula, a highly arched palate, or an actual cleft palate.  Joint laxity is common.

Genetics

There are reasons to classify type II Stickler syndrome as a unique disorder apart from type I (108300).  In addition to phenotypic evidence (vitreoretinal disease, amount of hearing loss, and degree of epiphyseal disease), mutation in two different genes are involved.  Type II results from a mutation in the COL11A1 (1p21) and type I (108300) in COL2A1.  Both types are inherited in autosomal dominant patterns.

Type IV (614234) with vitreoretinal changes, myopia, and a high risk of retinal detachment is inherited in an autsomal recessive pattern.

Pedigree: 
Autosomal dominant
Treatment
Treatment Options: 

Patients with type II Stickler disease need lifelong ophthalmologic monitoring because of the risk of retinal detachments and cataracts with treatment as indicated.
 

References
Article Title: 

Clinical features of type 2 Stickler syndrome

Poulson AV, Hooymans JM, Richards AJ, Bearcroft P, Murthy R, Baguley DM, Scott JD, Snead MP. Clinical features of type 2 Stickler syndrome. J Med Genet. 2004 Aug;41(8):e107.

PubMed ID: 
15286167

Marfan Syndrome

Clinical Characteristics
Ocular Features: 

Marfan syndrome typically has skeletal, ocular and cardiovascular abnormalities.  The globe is elongated creating an axial myopia and increasing the risk of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments.  Ectopia lentis is, of course, the classical ocular feature and is often if not always congenital with some progression.  The lenses most frequently dislocate superiorly and temporally and dilating the pupils often reveals broken and retracted lens zonules.  Phacodenesis and iridodenesis are commonly present even in the absence of evident lens dislocations. Cataracts develop several decades earlier than in unaffected individuals. The cornea is generally several diopters flatter than normal and there is an increased risk of open angle glaucoma.  There is considerable clinical variation among patients.

Systemic Features: 

Patients with the Marfan phenotype are usually tall with disproportionately long limbs (dolichostenomelia) and digits (arachnodactyly).   Patients frequently have scoliosis or kyphoscoliosis.  The joints are lax and hyperflexible although contractures can also occur.  The sternum is often deformed, either as a pectus excavatum, or sometimes pectus carinatum.  The hard palate is high and narrow resulting in crowding of the teeth and maloccclusion.  The defect in fibrillin is responsible for the weakness in connective tissue that leads to frequent cardiac valve malfunction, especially insufficiency of the aortic valve resulting from aortic dilatation, tear, and rupture.  The latter is often life-threatening as aortic dissection can be fatal.  Mitral valve prolapse is seen as well.  Cardiovascular disease is primarily responsible for the shortened life expectancy in this disease, more pronounced among males.

Genetics

As many as 25% of cases are caused by new mutations, but familial cases usually follow an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance.  Autosomal recessive inheritance is claimed for several individuals in a consanguineous Turkish family.  Mutations in the fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) on chromosome 15 (15q21.1) are considered responsible for the typical phenotype.  The exact nature of the fibrillin defect is unknown but the result is a generalized weakness in connective tissue.

The same gene is mutant in the autosomal dominant form of the Weill-Marchesani syndrome (608328) which is allelic to the Marfan syndrome.

Mutations in FBN1 have also been found in cases with isolated autosomal dominant ectopia lentis (129600).

Pedigree: 
Autosomal dominant
Treatment
Treatment Options: 

Isometric exercises such as weight lifting should be avoided as should contact sports in which blunt trauma to the chest may occur because of the weakened aortic wall due to cystic changes that predispose the athlete to aortic dissection.  A dislocated and/or cataractous lens may need to be removed from the visual axis, and, of course, periodic retinal examinations for retinal holes and retinal detachments should be made.   Beta-adrenergic blockade reduces the risk of aortic dilatation and improves survival.

Pravastatin has been reported to reduce aortic dilation in marfan mice.

References
Article Title: 

Pravastatin reduces marfan aortic dilation

McLoughlin D, McGuinness J, Byrne J, Terzo E, Huuskonen V, McAllister H, Black A, Kearney S, Kay E, Hill AD, Dietz HC, Redmond JM. Pravastatin reduces marfan aortic dilation. Circulation. 2011 Sep 13;124(11 Suppl):S168-73.

PubMed ID: 
21911808

Aland Island Eye Disease

Clinical Characteristics
Ocular Features: 

This is an X-linked disorder in which males have a variety of ocular defects.  The fundus is hypopigmented and the fovea is incompletely developed.  The hypopigmentation is most pronounced in the posterior pole and peripapillary region.  Variable degrees of iris transillumination have also been noted.  Progressive axial myopia, nystagmus, astigmatism, defective night vision, and a protan color vision defect are additional cardinal features.  Females may be mildly affected with subtle nystagmus and color vision defects.  It is sometimes mislabeled as X-linked albinism (OA1, #300500) but differs importantly from that disorder by the lack of misrouting of optic nerve axons.  The eponymic label 'Forsius-Eriksson type ocular albinism' further adds to the confusion with ocular albinism. 

Systemic Features: 

No systemic abnormalities have been reported.

Genetics

This is an X-linked disorder resulting from a mutation in the CACNA1F gene located at Xp11.23.  Molecular DNA studies suggest that there may be some heterogeneity in the causative mutations but in the original family reported by Forsius and Eriksson, a 425-bp deletion in the CACNA1F gene has been found to segregate as expected in the phenotypes.  The highly variable and subtle nature of clinical manifestations in females limits their usefulness in determination of carrier status and genotyping is necessary.

The CSNB2A type of congenital stationary night blindness (300071) is caused by mutations in the same gene suggesting allelism of the two disorders.  Aland Island eye disease shares some clinical features such as night blindness and occasionally mild color vision defects but differs in the presence of progressive myopia and an abnormal fovea. 

CORDX3 (300476), a cone-rod dystrophy, is also allelic.

Pedigree: 
X-linked recessive, carrier mother
X-linked recessive, father affected
Treatment
Treatment Options: 

No treatment is available except for correction of the myopia.

References
Article Title: 

A novel CACNA1F gene mutation causes Aland Island eye disease

Jalkanen R, Bech-Hansen NT, Tobias R, Sankila EM, M?SSntyj?SSrvi M, Forsius H, de la Chapelle A, Alitalo T. A novel CACNA1F gene mutation causes Aland Island eye disease. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 Jun;48(6):2498-502. PubMed PMID:17525176.

PubMed ID: 
17525176
Subscribe to RSS - axial myopia