National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome



Other Names:
Hereditary hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome; Cataract-hyperferritinemia syndrome; Bonneau-Beaumont syndrome
Categories:

Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome is a rare condition that is characterized by elevated levels of ferritin (an iron-storing protein) in the blood and early onset cataracts. Without treatment, these cataracts often become progressively worse leading to dimming and blurriness of vision. The severity of the condition can vary significantly from person to person, even among members of the same family. Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome is caused by changes (mutations) in the FTL gene and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Treatment is generally focused on improving vision and may include glasses, contact lenses and/or cataract surgery.[1][2]
Last updated: 8/27/2015

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Abnormality of metabolism/homeostasis
Laboratory abnormality
Metabolism abnormality
[ more ]
0001939
Cataract
Clouding of the lens of the eye
Cloudy lens
[ more ]
0000518
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Pulverulent cataract 0010693
1%-4% of people have these symptoms
Increased serum ferritin
Elevated serum ferritin
High ferritin level
Increased ferritin
Increased serum ferritin level
[ more ]
0003281
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Autosomal dominant inheritance 0000006
Nuclear cataract
Yellowish cloudy center of lens
0100018
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

Making a diagnosis for a genetic or rare disease can often be challenging. Healthcare professionals typically look at a person’s medical history, symptoms, physical exam, and laboratory test results in order to make a diagnosis. The following resources provide information relating to diagnosis and testing for this condition. If you have questions about getting a diagnosis, you should contact a healthcare professional.

Testing Resources

  • The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) provides information about the genetic tests for this condition. The intended audience for the GTR is health care providers and researchers. Patients and consumers with specific questions about a genetic test should contact a health care provider or a genetics professional.

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources


Related diseases are conditions that have similar signs and symptoms. A health care provider may consider these conditions in the table below when making a diagnosis. Please note that the table may not include all the possible conditions related to this disease.

Conditions with similar signs and symptoms from Orphanet
In cases for which no IRE mutations have been detected but the hyperferritinemia persists, hemochromatosis type 4 (which may be caused by ferroportin mutations) should be suspected.
Visit the Orphanet disease page for more information.

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

  • Genetics Home Reference (GHR) contains information on Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome. This website is maintained by the National Library of Medicine.
  • The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has a report for patients and families about this condition. NORD is a patient advocacy organization for individuals with rare diseases and the organizations that serve them.

In-Depth Information

  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know. Submit a new question

  • My daughter has the cataract-hyperferritnemia syndrome. She has a severe cataract and will soon undergo surgery. The doctor who discovered the syndrome has retired. He told us that except an eye surgery, no other treatment was needed as far as the hyperferritninemia is concerned. But I am wondering whether a risk of a gene mutation could happen leading to another iron disease. Moreover, neither my husband or me have that syndrome, is it normal? I thank you in advance for your reply. See answer



  1. Hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome. Genetics Home Reference. August 2012; http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/hyperferritinemia-cataract-syndrome.
  2. Hyperferritinemia Cataract Syndrome. National Organization for Rare Disorders. 2012; http://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/hyperferritinemia-cataract-syndrome/.