Oedipism and Down's syndrome: case report and review of the literature.

Patients with Down's syndrome usually have mild and pleasant temperaments, rarely exhibiting temper tantrums or behavioral problems. Blindness occurs in 5% of these patients. When present, it is usually due to keratoconus and cataracts and their associated complications. In this paper the authors report a case of self-induced ocular blindness that apparently resulted from the patient's severe mental retardation. To their knowledge, this has not been described in Down's syndrome.