Corneal topography shows abnormalities in children with Down syndrome

Computerized videokeratography can identify ocular abnormalities in patients with Down syndrome even when clinical examination shows no evidence of keratoconus, a study found.

Andrea L. Vincent, FRANZCO, and colleagues at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto recruited 21 children with Down syndrome (average age 6.9 years), 18 of their parents and a control group of an additional 60 children (mean age 9 years) to characterize topographical changes in these populations. All participants underwent a complete ocular exam and computerized corneal videokeratography using the EyeSys system. Three parameters analyzed were central corneal power, the difference in central corneal power between the two eyes and inferior-superior steepening asymmetry.

Children with Down syndrome had significantly steeper corneal curvatures than children in the control group; changes with age paralleled that of the control population, the researchers found. The difference in central corneal power between the two eyes and the inferior-superior steepening asymmetry were also significantly different in the control patients and those with Down syndrome (P < .0001).

At least one abnormal parameter was found in 39% of the parents of the Down syndrome children, which the researchers said was “a greater than expected incidence.”

The study is published in the February issue of Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology.