Congenital ophthalmoplegia is the abnormal development of the eyeball and extraocular muscles, which can lead to limited or lost eye movements and impaired vision. Most often, it is hereditary, but can also be caused by other factors such as injury or infection.
Symptoms of congenital ophthalmoplegia may include unresponsiveness of the eyes to light, immobility of the eye, and impaired ability to focus vision. These symptoms may appear immediately after birth or during the first few years of a child's life.
In this case, consultation with an ophthalmologist is recommended.
The causes of congenital ophthalmoplegia are considered to be disturbances in the formation and development of the oculomotor system during the formation of brain structures. The cause of the development of oculoplegia in a child may be a genetic factor or arise as a result of exposure to diseases during intrauterine development.
In children, the symptom occurs due to impaired blood circulation in the eye muscles and the general blood supply to the optic nerve. Typically, the first trimester of pregnancy ends with the formation of the ocular brainstem and the orbital process of the pons, which is responsible for the innervation of the oculomotor muscles, begins to develop. The oculomotor nerve develops towards the end of the second trimester. Violation of the formation of this part of the brain also entails disruption of the conduction of nerve impulses.
The prognosis for treatment of this anomaly determines the form of the disease and how much it progresses. Impact on the main cause of the manifestation is possible only in treating the cause of the disease. If the symptoms of the disease are not very pronounced and there is no tendency to intensify, it is possible to use conservative methods of therapy. These are anti-inflammatory drugs, cholinomimetic drugs, vitamins. Treatment is aimed only at correcting symptoms and reducing the degree of their manifestation. The development of the eyeballs cannot be stopped,