Juvenile cataract morphology in 3 siblings not yet diagnosed with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis.

Purpose: Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis is a progressive neurodegenerative storage disease caused by recessive CYP27A1 mutations and is characterized by abnormal deposition of cholestanol and cholesterol in multiple tissues, including the lens and brain. Oral chenodeoxycholic acid is preventive and can be therapeutic, but is not used optimally because the condition typically is diagnosed late or not at all. When affected children demonstrate lens opacities, ophthalmologists have the unique potential to facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment by recognizing the juvenile cataract phenotype.

Familial spherophakia with short stature caused by a novel homozygous ADAMTS17 mutation.

Purpose: Weill-Marchesani syndrome is characterized by spherophakia, short stature, short hands/feet, joint stiffness, and occasional cardiac abnormalities. The phenotype can be caused by recessive ADAMTS10 mutations or heterozygous fibrillin-1 mutation. In contrast, isolated spherophakia with short stature has been associated with three different homozygous ADAMTS17 mutations in three families from Saudi Arabia.