Bilateral metabolic cataracts in 10-yr-old boy with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Classic symptoms of diabetes mellitus in childhood prompting parents to seek medical attention include polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, weight loss and kussmal breathing. Cataracts with juvenile diabetes usually occur in patients with long-standing, poorly controlled diabetes (1, 2). We describe a child in whom the acute loss of vision secondary to lenticular opacities was the initial sign of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.