Retinitis Pigmentosa

Introduction: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis Pigmentosa: A group of inherited eye diseases involving degeneration of the rod and cone cells in the retina which absorb and use light to facilitate the process of seeing. Vision results from this degeneration. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Retinitis Pigmentosa is available below.

Symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa

• Night-blindness
• Peripheral vision loss
• Progressive retinal degeneration
• Night blindness
• Tunnel vision

See full list of 6 symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Retinitis Pigmentosa:

• Vision & Eye Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Eye Tests
  • Home Vision Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Retinitis Pigmentosa

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa?

• Misdiagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Underlying causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Misdiagnosis and Retinitis Pigmentosa

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Read more about Misdiagnosis and Retinitis Pigmentosa

Causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa

• Fahr disease
• Bardet-Biedl syndrome
• Lowe syndrome
• Usher's syndrome
• Subacute necrotising encephalomyelopathy

See full list of 24 causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Read more about causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa.

More information about causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa:

• Retinitis Pigmentosa as a complication caused by other conditions
• Retinitis Pigmentosa as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa

• Vitamin A

Read more about treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Videos for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Patient Surveys for Retinitis Pigmentosa

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Retinitis Pigmentosa
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Reseach about Retinitis Pigmentosa

Visit our research pages for current research about Retinitis Pigmentosa treatments.

Clinical Trials for Retinitis Pigmentosa

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Retinitis Pigmentosa include:

• Natural History and Genetic Studies of Usher Syndrome - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Evaluation of Safety of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Implants in the Eye - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Implant NT-501
• Investigating the Effect of Vitamin A Supplementation on Retinitis Pigmentosa - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Vitamin A
• Repository for Inherited Eye Diseases - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Randomized Trial of Vitamin A and Vitamin E Supplementation for Retinitis Pigmentosa - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Vitamin E,Vitamin A

See full list of 20 Clinical Trials for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Statistics for Retinitis Pigmentosa

• Medical statistics for Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Death and Mortality statistics for Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Society statistics for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Stories from Users Related to Retinitis Pigmentosa

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Retinitis Pigmentosa, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Definitions of 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