Abstract

MONFORT ESTEVEZ, Yolelvis  and  MENDEZ SANCHEZ, Teresita de Jesús. Delayed visual maturation. Rev Cubana Oftalmol [online]. 2013, vol.26, suppl.1, pp. 632-641. ISSN 0864-2176.

Delayed visual maturation is the term used to describe those children with inability to fix their eyes with the object or to visually follow them in the environment, who do not react to a threatening object or a gleam of light close to them, for example, by opening and closing their eyes. However, they generally improve their condition at the age of 6 months without any treatment. The possible causes of this disorder may be lack of oxygen, before, during or after birth, illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria, such as meningitis and cytomegalovirus, or a traumatic lesion, although there exists now minority consensus about the real etiology of this phenomenon. The children suffering delayed visual maturation seem to be blind, unable to focus attention, fix or visually follow any portion of the visual world. Ocular and neurological examination of the child is completely normal. Symptoms disappear without any treatment and the cause for the initial occurrence is usually unfound. The delayed visual maturation is classified into 3 groups, the first group with delayed visual maturation as the only anomaly and a quick and complete recovery. The second group includes those cases with ocular problems, namely strabismus, high refractive error, mental retardation, and others, in which recovery is slower and often incomplete. The third group includes cases with other ocular anomalies.

Keywords : retardation; ocular development; children.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )