Ophthalmologic features of Vici syndrome.

PURPOSE: To report and compile the ophthalmological features critical to diagnosis of Vici syndrome, a rare congenital disorder characterized principally by agenesis of the corpus callosum, cataracts, cardiomyopathy, immune defects, and hypopigmentation.

METHODS

A child with Vici syndrome (OMIM 242840) is reported with emphasis on the ophthalmologic evaluation. Ophthalmologic assessments including fundus examination, visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and ocular coherence tomography are presented. These findings are compared with those identified in other published cases of children with Vici syndrome.

RESULTS

Ophthalmologic findings included bilateral nuclear and anterior polar cataracts, bilateral optic nerve atrophy, and mild fundus hypopigmentation. Evoked potentials recorded across the mid-occipital scalp demonstrated misrouting of optic pathways typical of albinism. Optical coherence tomography exhibited a poorly defined fovea demonstrating a lesser degree of foveal depression also consistent with ocular albinism. Review of reported children with Vici syndrome identifies bilateral cataracts, nystagmus, fundus hypopigmentation, visual impairment, and optic nerve hypoplasia as common ophthalmologic features.

CONCLUSIONS

Ophthalmologic findings are critical to the diagnosis of Vici syndrome. Most common are bilateral cataracts and relative fundus hypopigmentation. VEPs can identify misrouting of optic pathways typical of ocular albinism, thereby establishing the diagnosis in challenging cases.