Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye. The lens is a crystal-clear, flexible structure near the front of the eyeball. It helps to keep vision in focus, and screens and refracts light rays. The lens has no blood supply. It is nourished by the vitreous (the watery substance that surrounds it). Cataracts may form in one or both eyes. If they form in both eyes, their growth rate may be very different. Cataracts are not cancerous.
Appropriate health care includes treatment by an ophthalmologist or surgery to remove the lens.
Cataracts are one of the possible complications of classic galactosemia. Cataracts are mostly observed in newborns but can also occur in adults. It is thought that 10-30% of newborns with classic galactosemia develop cataracts in the first few days or weeks of life. Once a newborn is put on a galactose-restricted diet, cataracts usually clear up on their own. Surgery is sometimes necessary in rarer cases.
It is believed that if the galactose restricted diet is followed, cataracts do not develop in galactosemic children.
Many patients have eye examinations to check for the presence of cataracts on a regular basis. More frequent during the first year of life (e.g every 3-4 months), such exams can be reduced in frequency (e.g. 1 or 2 times a year) in older children. It is a good idea to have an eye exam if for some reason Gal-1-P levels are observed to rise above a 'target' range.