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Retinitis Pigmentosa
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is the name given to a group of hereditary eye disorders. These disorders affect the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye, in which the first stages of seeing take place. In RP, sight loss is gradual but progressive. It is unusual for people with RP to become totally blind as most retain some useful vision well into old age.
The most common first symptom is difficulty in seeing in poor light, for example outdoors at dusk, or in a dimly lit room. A second symptom is reduction of the visual field, in which sight is lost from the sides, or from above and below. This is often referred to as tunnel vision. In most cases the earliest symptoms of RP develop between the ages of 10 and 30.
The condition is best detected by an examination of the inside of the eye by an optometrist or a doctor, using an ophthalmoscope. Normally he or she would see an orange-coloured area called the fundus (surface of the retina). When the patient has RP, the orange surface is broken by black or brown clumps of pigment.
Currently, no treatment is available to cure RP or arrest its progress. It is the result of incorrect instructions being passed to the body's chemistry by faulty inherited genes, although scientific studies are continuing.
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Amblyopia | Astigmatism | Cataracts | Childrens Vision | Conjunctivitis | Glaucoma | Hypermetropia | Macular Degeneration | Myopia | | Presbyopia | Retinitis Pigmentosa |
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