Retinitis Pigmentosa – Cleveland Clinic

What is retinitis pigmentosa?

The eye is often compared to a camera. The front of the eye contains a lens that focuses images on the inside of the back of the eye. This area, called the retina, is covered with special nerve cells that react to light.

These nerve cells include the rods and cones. The rods and cones react to light because they contain pigments that change color when light strikes them. In some people, however, there is a problem with these pigments. The rods (and sometimes the cones) gradually stop working, and the retina begins to deteriorate.

There are several kinds inherited medical conditions that can cause this problem, which is called retinitis pigmentosa. According to The Foundation Fighting Blindness, there are about 100,000 people with retinitis pigmentosa in the United States.

Today, doctors know a lot about how the condition is inherited, but researchers are still trying to find out exactly why certain combinations of genes cause retinitis pigmentosa.

Someone with retinitis pigmentosa will notice gradual changes in vision, including:

Retinitis pigmentosa usually affects both eyes. In some forms of the condition, vision continues to get worse. In other types of retinitis pigmentosa, only a small area is affected and vision might not change at all for several years.

Because the symptoms usually develop very slowly, someone with retinitis pigmentosa can lose quite a bit of vision before noticing anything is wrong. In fact, the eye doctor sometimes notices the problem first when he or she sees changes in the pigments when examining a patient's retina with a special instrument. These changes in the retina can start to occur as early as childhood or as late as middle age, depending on what type of retinitis pigmentosa the patient has.

Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment to stop or cure retinitis pigmentosa. Research is being conducted, but there is currently not even an experimental medication or surgical treatment.

There is some research showing that certain vitamin supplements may help slow the loss of vision in some types of retinitis pigmentosa. Your doctor will be able to tell you more about this.

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Retinitis Pigmentosa - Cleveland Clinic