CATARACT AND RETINAL DETACHMENT ASSOCIATED WITH ATOPIC DERMATITIS

Abstract

THE THREE diseases with important skin manifestations in which cataracts occur with some frequency are Rothmund's syndrome, Werner's syndrome, and atopic dermatitis. According to Buschke,¹cataract may be seen in rare cases of keratosis follicularis, telangiectases, and developmental anomalies of the hair. In a comprehensive study of Werner's syndrome and Rothmund's syndrome, Thannhauser²pointed out their differences and showed that cataract is an integral part of each entity. He also stated that myotonia dystrophica, in which cataracts are frequently found, may at times resemble Werner's syndrome. These syndromes are rare and heredofamilial. Atopic dermatitis, however, is a relatively common skin disease, and the presence of cataract adds a most distressing complication to a disease which is notoriously difficult to manage. In addition to the increased physical disability, a psychic trauma is heaped upon a personality ill equipped to bear it. Androgsky³in 1914 reported the first four