Contents:
- Medical Video: Strategies to Slow the Onset of Blindness in Retinitis Pigmentosa
- What is retinitis pigmentosa?
- Various symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa
- What checks need to be done?
- Can this condition be treated?
Medical Video: Strategies to Slow the Onset of Blindness in Retinitis Pigmentosa
Do you often find it difficult to see at night? You may suffer from retinitis pigmentosa, a congenital disorder that causes a decrease in visual acuity, especially at night. What are the other symptoms and how to detect them? See the full explanation in the article below!
What is retinitis pigmentosa?
Retinitis pigmentosa is a congenital disorder that primarily attacks stem cells, namely cells that play a role in seeing in low light conditions. These cells play an important role in vision in the dark as well as vision at the edge of the eye.
This disorder can occur due to damage to about 50 DNA. Like other congenital abnormalities, this condition can be reduced from parents to the next generation.
Various symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa
- Night blindness, namely the sharp decline of vision in dark conditions aka night blindness or myopic chicken. Vision reduction begins with the longer the time it takes for your eyes to adjust from a bright room to a dark room. One of the most common complaints is tripping or bumping into something when it's dark. In fact, your vision may be fine in bright conditions.
- Loss of vision on the side of the eye. You will be like looking through a tunnel (tunnel vision) because the view becomes narrower. The side, top and bottom sides of the viewing area turn dark so you cannot detect objects that come in other than the front.
- Loss of all visual acuity. This disease is progressive alias continues to get worse slowly. so in some cases that are already severe, you can lose all eyesight, aka experiencing blindness.
What checks need to be done?
There are various types of examinations that can be performed by ophthalmologists to determine the best diagnosis and treatment for each patient.
- Funduscopy, namely examination using a special tool to see the state of the retina.
- Electroretinogram is an examination by detecting electrical waves captured by stem cells and cone cells (color vision) when given light stimulation. In the initial phase of the disease there will be a decrease in wave amplitude. While in the advanced phase, waves are generally no longer found.
- Dark adaptometry is a device that can detect the ability of stem cells to adapt in the dark. This tool can help to detect retinitis pigmentosa early.
- Perimetry which is a test to detect visual disturbances on the edge of the eye.
- Genetic examination performed to determine changes in genes causing retinitis pigmentosa.
Can this condition be treated?
Until now no drug has been found that can treat retinitis pigmentosa completely. However, there are some things that can help reduce the disease getting worse while preventing blindness.
- Vitamin A. One study found that administration of high doses of vitamin A (15,000 IU / day) can slow or delay the appearance of the disease by up to 20 percent per year. However, long-term use has side effects in the form of damage to the liver.
- DHA very good for maintaining eye health, supporting healing of the eyes, and helping to overcome dry eye syndrome.
- Use itanti ultraviolet goggles (UV) every time you are outdoors. Especially when the sun is so hot.
As one of the progressive diseases that still cannot be treated, the use of special visual aids (low vision aids) become one way out so that you can still move to the maximum. Discuss about using these tools with your ophthalmologist.
