Retinal Degeneration

There is currently no cure for blindness attributable to degenerative diseases of the retina such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration or Usher syndrome.

In these diseases the photosensitive cells of the retina (photoreceptors) have degenerated. As a result people slowly lose their vision and eventually suffer from complete blindness.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) typically begins with the degeneration of rods in peripheral areas of the retina. This causes night blindness and affects peripheral vision, which results in "tunnel vision" (which has been compared to looking at things through a key hole).

Macular degeneration, in contrast, begins in the central part of the retina and thus causes loss of central vision. In western countries age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in people over 50.