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Keratoconus caused by eye rubbing in patients with Tourette Syndrome
Raneen Shehadeh Mashor1, Nikhil L Kumar, Rusty J Ritenour
1Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont, Canada. Raneen_sh_mash@hotmail.com
Objective:
To report the association between keratoconus and Tourette Syndrome (TS) and to reinforce that eye rubbing may be a causative factor for keratoconus.
Design:
Observational case series.
Participants:
Three patients with TS who presented with clinical and topographic findings suggestive of asymmetric or unilateral keratoconus.
Methods:
Evaluation of patients in a single clinical practice.
Results:
Patients' histories revealed asymmetric or unilateral rubbing of the affected eye as a result of a TS tic. Other organic causes associated with keratoconus were absent in these patients.
Conclusions:
A possible association between TS and keratoconus exists with chronic eye rubbing being the suggested mechanism. Eye rubbing seems to be an important causative factor for keratoconus.
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