Almost 16 years after the disappearance of madeleine mccannthe three-year-old British minor who lost track of her in a holiday apartment in the Algarve (Portugal), the case seems to have taken a 180-degree turn.
A young woman, identified as , claims to be Madeleine McCann herself.
Through a profile on social networks, which she has created herself, she has shared more than 100 images in which she compares her appearance with that of the missing minor.
Although the parents would have agreed to get one to confirm or not that it is really their daughter, there is a characteristic that is particularly striking and that both have in common: an eye defect that became known after the girl’s disappearance.
Is it rare that there are two people with coloboma?
It is a very rare eye disease but its incidence is not something completely extraordinary either.
According to data obtained from a study published in the, we would be talking about a peculiarity that affects between 2.4 and 8 people out of every 10,000 live births.
A figure that allows us to consider coloboma as a “rare” ailment, but not so exceptional as to draw conclusions about the identity of two people who present the same peculiarity in the iris of their eye.
what is it and what types are there?
As explained by ophthalmologist Lluis Caveromember of TopDoctors, the coloboma It is a hereditary defect that is characterized by the lack of development of a part of the eye. This ocular malformation occurs between the fifth and seventh week of gestation.
Therefore, it is present from birth and, although the causes are not entirely clear, “it can occur due to eye surgery, hereditary conditions or trauma to the eye.” It normally affects the iris, characterized by an irregular, very striking shape that goes from the pupil to the iris itself.
However, there are other types of coloboma:
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Coloboma of the eyelid.
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Lens coloboma.
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Macular coloboma.
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Optic nerve coloboma.
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Uveal coloboma (middle layer of the eye).
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Chorioretinal coloboma.
Coloboma: what are the symptoms?
The symptoms of coloboma depend on where it occurs. The most obvious is palpebral coloboma, since it affects the eyelid and “it is noticeable that it is not fully developed.”
But the one that concerns us, the one with the iris, is one of the most visible and is the one that gives a “cat’s eye” appearance.
Generally, the main symptom is a greater sensitivity to light, although it can also cause a “visual field defect”, that is, that you can no longer see, for example, from the sides. This vision losshowever, it may not be noticeable from birth.
Coloboma is diagnosed with an eye exam by an ophthalmologist.
The specialist will use an ophthalmoscope to study the baby’s eye in depth, but it will not be until the patient is old enough to express himself when other complementary tests can be carried out to assess the involvement of the ocular defect.
Does coloboma have a treatment?
There is no specific treatment for coloboma. Patients with coloboma affecting the iris are recommended to use colored contact lenses to “disguise their appearance”, although surgery can also be used.
To prevent children from developing what is commonly known as “lazy eye”, the ophthalmologist prescribes patches, eye drops or the use of glasses.
This treatment improves vision in the most severe cases, but it is only recommended when the coloboma affects one eye.