CONGENITAL OCULAR MOTOR APRAXIA WITH TORSIONAL OSCILLATIONS - A CASE-REPORT

Congenital ocular motor apraxia (C-OMA) is an infrequently reported ey e movement disorder associated with malformation or delayed maturation of the brain. Patients with C-CMA are unable to initiate voluntary ho rizontal saccades. This results in characteristic head thrusts into th e desired field of gaze to compensate for the lack of saccadic ability . Careful examination of an 8-year-old Hispanic male revealed uncoordi nated eye movements, lack of voluntary saccades, head thrusts, and gro ss/fine motor delays all consistent with congenital ocular motor aprax ia. Torsional oscillations that resembled rotary nystagmus were also p resent. These have not been previously reported in association with C- CMA. Because young patients with this condition may appear to have cor tical blindness, C-OMA is an important differential to be aware of in making a diagnosis.