Trends in the incidence and causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children from Israel

Mezer, Eedy; Chetrit, Angela; Kalter‐Leibovici, Ofra; Kinori, Michael; Ben-Zion, Itay; Wygnanski–Jaffe, Tamara

doi:10.1016/j.jaapos.2015.04.002

Cited by 19 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Optic atrophy (OA) is one of the leading causes of sight impairment in children, both in the United Kingdom and worldwide, 1–6 and its prevalence may be increasing. 3 OA in children frequently poses a diagnostic challenge and can be found in up to 38% of children with multiple disabilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optic atrophy in children: Current causes and diagnostic approach

Jones

Al-Hayouti

Oladiwura

et al. 2020

European Journal of Ophthalmology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background/aims: Optic atrophy is one of the leading causes of sight impairment in children. It frequently poses a diagnostic challenge, as it can be caused by many ocular and systemic conditions. We aimed to determine the current causes of optic atrophy at our centre and to describe the use of investigations, including molecular genetic testing. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of children with optic atrophy seen at Moorfields Eye Hospital between 2010 and 2015. We recorded demographic data, reason for referral, history, investigations and diagnosis. Results: We studied 143 cases aged below 16 years. A cause could be identified in all cases. Taking a full history was the most important part of the diagnostic workup, identifying a cause in 96 (67%) children. A developmental disorder of the brain and/or optic nerve, sometimes with retinal involvement, was the commonest cause (n = 33, 23%), followed by inheritable optic neuropathies (n = 27, 19%). Other causes included perinatal insults (n = 18, 13%), post-infectious or post-inflammatory conditions (n = 18, 13%), accidental or abusive trauma (n = 14, 10%) and inheritable retinal dystrophies (n = 13, 9%). Rare conditions included neurodegenerative disorders (n = 7, 5%), skeletal developmental disorders such as rickets (n = 4, 3%), tumours (n = 4, 3%), ischaemic events including large optic nerve head drusen (n = 4, 3%) and toxic events/metabolic conditions (n = 1, 0.7%). Conclusion: In this series, an underlying cause could be identified in all cases. Taking a comprehensive antenatal, perinatal, postnatal and family history will indicate a probable diagnosis in two-thirds of children, and targeted ancillary tests may identify the cause in most remaining cases.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optic atrophy in children: Current causes and diagnostic approach

Jones

Al-Hayouti

Oladiwura

et al. 2020

European Journal of Ophthalmology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fortunately, the advancement in the healthcare provided to pregnant mothers and neonates has improved the outcome of neonatal infants that develop retinopathy of prematurity, a major cause of visual impairment in children. However, the same progress in the neonatal and pediatric critical care units paradoxically has also increased the survival rate of neonate and full-term babies with neurological injuries that are frequently associated with visual impairment 3 , 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attenuation of Retinal Vascular Development in Neonatal Mice Subjected to Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Zaitoun

Çıkla

Zafer

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A significant proportion of children that survive hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) develop visual impairment. These visual deficits are generally attributed to injuries that occur in the primary visual cortex and other visual processing systems. Recent studies suggested that neuronal damage might also occur in the retina. An important structure affecting the viability of retinal neurons is the vasculature. However, the effects of HIE on the retinal neurovasculature have not been systemically evaluated. Here we investigated whether exposure of postnatal day 9 (P9) neonatal mice to HIE is sufficient to induce neurovascular damage in the retina. We demonstrate that the blood vessels on the surface of the retina, from mice subjected to HIE, were abnormally enlarged with signs of degeneration. The intermediate and deep vascular layers in these retinas failed to form normally, particularly in the periphery. All the vascular damages observed here were irreversible in nature up to 100 days post HIE. We also observed loss of retinal neurons, together with changes in both astrocytes and Müller cells mainly in the inner retina at the periphery. Collectively, our findings suggest that HIE results in profound alterations in the retinal vasculature, indicating the importance of developing therapeutic strategies to protect neurovascular dysfunction not only in the brain but also in the retina for infants exposed to HIE.

show abstract

“…7 In Israel, Mezer et al found that the incidence of cortical visual impairment was higher than that of the retinal diseases following a cohort study of children less than 18 years of age. 16 The reduction of loss of vision in children from retinitis pigmentosa was thought to have been due to continuous reduction in consanguineous marriages in the region. 16 Comparatively, in South East Nigeria, Aghaji et al found that the most common anatomical site of blindness was the lens (33.9%) among children at 3 schools for the blind, while cortical visual impairment was common among younger students at these schools.…”

Section: Blindnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…16 The reduction of loss of vision in children from retinitis pigmentosa was thought to have been due to continuous reduction in consanguineous marriages in the region. 16 Comparatively, in South East Nigeria, Aghaji et al found that the most common anatomical site of blindness was the lens (33.9%) among children at 3 schools for the blind, while cortical visual impairment was common among younger students at these schools. 17 Differences between the results of these 2 studies (in Israel and South East Nigeria) and those from our study may be related to differences in setting (a blind register and schools for blind children, respectively, as compared to our study ,which was carried out in a hospital setting).…”

Section: Blindnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood blindness and visual impairment in an underserved population in South West Nigeria: A clinic-based study

Isawumi¹

2018

East. Cent. Afr. J. Surg.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Knowledge of the causes of poor vision among children will contribute to interventions and policies to prevent childhood blindness and visual impairment. Methods: This was a 3-year descriptive study of consecutive cases presenting to the secondary eye clinic at State Specialist Hospital in Osogbo, Nigeria. Sociodemographic characteristics were documented, and full clinical eye examinations were done. Descriptive analyses were carried out.Results: Among 214 children examined, 59.3% were male and the mean age was 9.3 ± 3.5 years. The predominant age group was 0 to 5 years (40.2%). Common causes of blindness and visual impairment were: refractive error (22.9%), corneal disease (21.5%), and cataract (19.6%) opacities (31.1%), severe visual impairment most commonly resulted from cataracts (35.4%), and moderate visual impairment was most often the result of refractive error (47.8%). According to the World Health Organization classification of visual impairment, 74 participants (34.6%) were blind, 48 (22.4%) had severe visual impairment, and 92 (42.9%) had moderate visual impairment. . Refractive error was significantly more common among participants between 11 and 16 years of age (P < 0.001). All cases of retinoblastoma occurred among participants 0 to 5 years old (P < 0.001). Blindness most commonly resulted from corneal Conclusions: The causes of blindness and visual impairment are mainly avoidable. Provision of adequate manpower, necessary equipment in the hospitals for subsidised refractive and cataract surgical services, and uptake of these services are required towards prevention.

show abstract

Trends in the incidence and causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children from Israel

Cited by 19 publications

References 55 publications

Optic atrophy in children: Current causes and diagnostic approach

Optic atrophy in children: Current causes and diagnostic approach

Attenuation of Retinal Vascular Development in Neonatal Mice Subjected to Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Childhood blindness and visual impairment in an underserved population in South West Nigeria: A clinic-based study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About