What are the causes of congenital cataract?
Bilateral congenital cataracts are often inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, however, recessive and x-linked patterns have also been described. Approximately 5-10% of bilateral cataracts are associated with a systemic disorder. Unilateral infantile cataracts are rarely caused by a systemic disease, except in some cases of intrauterine infections such as rubella. About 20-30% of rubella cataracts are unilateral. Thus, the presence of a unilateral cataract does not completely rule out the possibility of an associated systemic disorder, but it is highly suggestive that the cataract is caused by local dysgenesis. Asymmetric bilateral lens opacities may be misinterpreted as a unilateral cataract.
