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To evaluate outcomes of bilateral cataract surgery in children aged 7 to 24 months and compare rates of adverse events (AEs) with other Toddler Aphakia and Pseudophakia Study (TAPS) registry outcomes. Retrospective clinical study at 10 Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) sites. Statistical analyses comparing this cohort with previously reported TAPS registry cohorts. Children enrolled in the TAPS registry between 2004 and 2010. Children underwent bilateral cataract surgery with or without intraocular lens (IOL) placement at age 7 to 24 months with 5 years of postsurgical follow-up. Visual acuity (VA), occurrence of strabismus, AEs, and reoperations. A total of 40 children (76 eyes) who underwent bilateral cataract surgery with primary posterior capsulectomy were identified with a median age at cataract surgery of 11 months (7–23); 68% received a primary IOL. Recurrent visual axis opacification (VAO) occurred in 7.5% and was associated only with the use of an IOL (odds ratio, 6.10; P = 0.005). Glaucoma suspect (GS) was diagnosed in 2.5%, but no child developed glaucoma. In this bilateral cohort, AEs (8/40, 20%), including glaucoma or GS and VAO, and reoperations occurred in a similar proportion to that of the published unilateral TAPS cohort. When analyzed with children aged 1 to 7 months at bilateral surgery, the incidence of AEs and glaucoma or GS correlated strongly with age at surgery (P = 0.011/0.004) and glaucoma correlated with microcornea (P = 0.040) but not with IOL insertion (P = 0.15). Follow-up to age 5 years after bilateral cataract surgery in children aged 7 to 24 months reveals a low rate of VAO and very rare glaucoma or GS diagnosis compared with infants with cataracts operated at < 7 months of age despite primary IOL implantation in most children in the group aged 7 to 24 months. The use of an IOL increases the risk of VAO irrespective of age at surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of mutations in the promoter region of the L ferritin gene on its transcriptional activity. Design and methods: To search for the presence of mutations in the promoter of the L gene, we amplified by PCR a DNA region of about 385 n.t. in 100 healthy subjects from Southern Italy. Results: A subject carrying a C to A transition in position −216 was identified. This transition causes an increased transcriptional activity in vitro. This finding was substantiated by Real Time Quantitative PCR, which showed increased levels of L ferritin mRNA. Conclusions: A previously unidentified mutation in the promoter region of the L ferritin gene was detected in an individual. Interestingly, this subject is affected by bilateral cataract, a disease that has been correlated, in a subset of patients, with high levels of circulating ferritin. We hypothesize that changes in the expression of the L ferritin might be linked, at least to a certain extent, to the pathogenesis of this rare eye disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]