Keratoconus is the leading cause of severe visual impairment in children and adolescents worldwide. The disease often remains undetected for a long time and can lead to blindness at a later stage. Children and adolescents are at the greatest risk, as the disease is the most aggressive in these age groups.
The Light for Sight foundation now unites more than 25 countries in the fight against keratoconus.
The goal of LightforSight is to eliminate preventable blindness in children and adolescents with keratoconus.
This goal should be achieved as follows:
Children and adolescents with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) are at a high risk of developing keratoconus
Before the advent of cross-linking technology, the only treatment option was corneal transplantation. However, this is a particular risk especially in people with Down’s syndrome, as many sufferers very often rub their eyes, which can lead to a bleeding of the sutures of the graft and a loss of the cornea and the eye
The best way to treat this condition in people with Down syndrome is early detection. The aim of the initiative is to provide all ophthalmologists with cross-linking information about the disease and the treatment options, as well as to encourage parents to have their children, especially children with Down syndrome, undergo an examination. Last but not least, all other medical professionals involved in the care of people with Down Syndrome, such as general practitioners and paediatricians, must also be informed.
