Causes

Congenital Rubella occurs at the new-born whose mother was infected with Rubella during pregnancy. Nowadays, its frequency is significantly decreased, at least in Western countries, due to the Anti-Rubella vaccine, but it continues to be a problem in less developed countries.

The situation is even more complicated if the mother is infected during the first trimester of pregnancy, in which case the child is born with visual, hearing, heart, central nervous system and brain problems.

For more information, please visit: http://www.sense.org.uk/content/rubella .

CHARGE syndrome was first described in 1979, by doctor B. D. Hall. The name (since 1981) represents an English acronym of the main deficiencies: C – coloboma, H – heart, A – atresia, R – retardation, G – genital, E – ear).

For more information, please visit: http://www.sense.org.uk/content/charge-syndrome .

Usher syndrome is a hereditary disease, discovered by Doctor Von Gräffe in 1858 and described in 1914 by Scottish ophthalmologist Charles H. Usher.

It is characterized by hearing impairments or deafness and Retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Three types have been identified and described:

- TYPE I (profound hearing loss, potential unstable balance, occurring at the age of 8-12, users of sign language);

- TYPE II (moderate hearing loss, normal balance, verbal language if using hearing aids, Retinitis pigmentosa during teenage years);

- TYPE III (normal sight and hearing during childhood, Retinitis pigmentosa during the second decade of life, hearing impairments, progressive degeneration).

For more information, please visit http://www.sense.org.uk/content/usher-syndrome .

Other causes may be: perinatal trauma, Refsum Syndrome, Cytomegalovirus, Hunter Syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, Down Syndrome, congenital toxoplasmosis, congenital syphilis, Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, inadequate medication etc.