AIM: To investigate the clinical features of fundus diseases of familial congenital nystagmus.

METHODS: Totally 40 eyes of 20 nystagmus patients from 3 congenital nystagmus families were enrolled in our study. The eye position, refractive error, anterior segment and fundus, including fundus photograph, optical coherence tomography(OCT), and visual evoked potential(VEP)were performed on them.

RESULTS: There were 8 patients in Family A, all of which were horizontal nystagmus, in that 6 cases of strabismus(2 of which combined with compensatory head posture), 2 cases of nuclear cataract, 2 cases of posterior polar cataract, 1 case of retinopathy of prematurity, 2 cases of severe ametropia. There were 6 patients in Family B, all of which were horizontal nystagmus, in that 3 cases of albinism(2 of which combined with macular hypoplasia), 2 cases of severe ametropia, 1 case of achromatopsia, 1 case of nuclear cataract. There were 6 patients in Family C(5 of which were horizontal nystagmus and 1 rotatory nystagmus), 2 cases of Leber congenital amaurosis, 1 case of familial exudative vitreoretinopathy, 2 cases of posterior polar cataract, 1 case of iris atrophy, 2 cases of strabismus.

CONCLUSION: We have to do detailed examinations on patients suffered from familial congenital nystagmus to understand its causes and to improve their visual functions as well as possible.