Corneal changes in spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda

A Rare Form of Corneal Opacity Associated with Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita

A 13-year-old Japanese female diagnosed with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) was referred for ophthalmologic evaluation. Examination with slit-lamp and optical coherence tomography revealed bilateral thin cornea with diffuse corneal opacity which was localised at the posterior stromal depth in the central cornea. Unlike the two previously reported cases of diffuse and nodular patterns of corneal opacity in SEDC, the current case exhibited a rare form of corneal opacity. SEDC is one of the type II collagenopathies, characterised by dwarfism because the mutations in COL2A1 prevent bone growth. Although the existence of type II collagen has not been reported in the human corneal stroma, the aetiology of the opacity in the corneal stroma in SEDC type II collagenopathy is of interest.

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda with progressive arthropathy associated with subcapsular cataract

Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda with progressive arthropathy is a form of inherited skeletal dysplasia involving the axial skeleton along with swelling and deformities of the peripheral joints that mimics juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. We report a case of a 14-year-old school boy who presented with dwarfism, spine deformity, ocular anomaly and peripheral arthropathy with characteristic radiological changes in the vertebrae and multiple other joints.