Latent and Congenital Nystagmus in Down Syndrome

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Title Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, September 1999, Volume 19, Issue 3
Date 1999-09
Language eng
Format application/pdf
Type Text
Publication Type Journal Article
Collection Neuro-ophthalmology Virtual Education Library: NOVEL http://NOVEL.utah.edu
Publisher Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Holding Institution Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, 10 N 1900 E SLC, UT 84112-5890
Rights Management © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society
ARK ark:/87278/s64f4wst
Setname ehsl_novel_jno
ID 225018
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64f4wst

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Title Latent and Congenital Nystagmus in Down Syndrome
Creator Averbuch-Heller, L; Dell'Osso, LF; Jacobs, JB; Remler, BF
Affiliation Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
Abstract OBJECTIVES: Although nystagmus has been reported in Down syndrome (DS), it has been poorly characterized, because most investigators have relied on clinical observations rather than on eye movement recordings. This study was conducted to investigate nystagmus in DS, using quantitative measurements of eye movements. METHODS: Ocular motility and visual functions were examined in 26 unselected adults with DS and compared with those in an age-matched group of 35 subjects with other causes of mental retardation. The eye movements of those with clinically evident nystagmus were recorded with the infrared technique. We also recorded the eye movements of a child with DS and nystagmus. RESULTS: Nystagmus was identified in six (23%) adults with DS and in none in the control group. All six patients showed latent/manifest latent nystagmus (LMLN), prominent with the covering of one eye, and esodeviations of 10 to 30 prism diopters. Eye movement recordings confirmed LMLN with its exponentially decaying waveform. Frequencies ranged from 2 to 5 Hz and amplitudes from 5 degrees to 20 degrees. While attempting to fixate straight ahead in the absence of visual cues, three subjects exhibited shifts in the mean eye position. In contrast with the findings in adults, the only child with DS examined had both congenital nystagmus and LMLN waveforms. CONCLUSIONS: The predominant type of nystagmus in the study subjects with DS is LMLN. The high prevalence of LMLN may reflect abnormal integration of visuospatial information that is typical of DS. The concurrent presence of congenital nystagmus in a child but only LMLN in the adults with DS raises the possibility of age-related waveform changes or could reflect sample variation.
Subject Adult; Down Syndrome/complications; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Older people; Nystagmus, Pathologic/complications/congenital
OCR Text Show
Date 1999-06
Format application/pdf
Holding Institution Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, 10 N 1900 E SLC, UT 84112-5890
Setname ehsl_novel_jno
ID 225007
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64f4wst/225007
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