Deletion 17p11.2 (Smith-Magenis syndrome) is relatively common among patients having mental retardation and myopia

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1994 · American Journal of Human Genetics

OSTI ID:133678

Finucane, B; Jaeger, E R ^[1]; Freitag, S K ^[2]

---

1. Elwyn, Inc. PA (United States)
2. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

We recently reported the finding of moderate to severe myopia in 6 of 10 patients with Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS). To investigate the prevalence of SMS among mentally retarded people having myopia, we surveyed a cohort of patients residing at a facility for individuals with mental retardation (MR). Of 547 institutionalized individuals with MR, 72 (13.2%) had moderate to high myopia defined as a visual acuity of minus 3 diopters or more. It should be noted that our institution does not specifically select for people with visual impairment; rather, the facility serves people with a primary diagnosis of MR. Sixty-five of 72 (90.3%) myopic individuals identified were available for cytogenetic analysis. Seventeen (26.2%) of these patients had trisomy 21. Down syndrome (DS) is well known to be associated with eye abnormalities, including myopia. Of 48 individuals with moderate to high myopia not having DS, 5 (10.4%) were shown to have deletions of 17p11.2. This is a high prevalence considering the relative rarity of SMS. By contrast, in a randomized sample of 48 patients without significant myopia at the same facility, we found no individuals with deletion 17p11.2. We conclude that the diagnosis of SMS should be considered in any non-Down syndrome individual having MR and myopia, and that ophthalmologists serving people with MR should be made aware of this deletion syndrome. Furthermore, our results suggest that significant numbers of people having SMS could be identified through selective institutional screening of patients having a combination of MR and moderate to severe myopia.

• OSTI ID: 133678
• Report Number(s): CONF-941009--
• Journal Information: American Journal of Human Genetics, Journal Name: American Journal of Human Genetics Journal Issue: Suppl.3 Vol. 55; ISSN AJHGAG; ISSN 0002-9297
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DOWNS SYNDROME
HUMAN CHROMOSOME 17
HUMAN CHROMOSOME 21
MENTAL DISORDERS
PATIENTS
SCREENING
SENSE ORGANS DISEASES