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Diseases » Retinitis Pigmentosa » Summary

What is Retinitis Pigmentosa?

Contents

What is Retinitis Pigmentosa?

Retinitis Pigmentosa: Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited disorders characterized by progressive peripheral vision loss and night vision difficulties that can lead to central vision loss.
Retinitis Pigmentosa: group of inherited abnormalities in the retina; characterized by night blindness, retinal atrophy, weakening of the retinal vessels, pigment clumping, and contraction of the visual field.
Source - Diseases Database

Retinitis Pigmentosa is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Retinitis Pigmentosa, or a subtype of Retinitis Pigmentosa, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Retinitis Pigmentosa as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Retinitis Pigmentosa: Introduction

Types of Retinitis Pigmentosa:

Broader types of Retinitis Pigmentosa:

How many people get Retinitis Pigmentosa?

Prevalance of Retinitis Pigmentosa: 100,000 people have retinitis pigmentosa which can cause retinal deterioration and blindness in the US (Research to Prevent Blindness, NISE, NSF)
Prevalance Rate of Retinitis Pigmentosa: approx 1 in 2,719 or 0.04% or 100,000 people in USA [about data]

How serious is Retinitis Pigmentosa?

Prognosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa: The disorder will continue to progress, although slowly. Complete blindness is uncommon.
Complications of Retinitis Pigmentosa: see complications of Retinitis Pigmentosa