Degenerative Retinal Disease

In a healthy eye the retina, a delicate layer of tissue at the back of the eye, converts light into electrical signals that are sent to the brain via the optic nerve. Retinal degenerative diseases affect how this essential function works, causing distortion and deterioration of vision.

Symptoms of Retinal Degenerative Disease

While these symptoms are not exclusively related to retinal diseases, if you experience any of them you should immediately seek medical attention. Most eye conditions are nothing to worry about. But if there is something more serious occurring it is important to start treatment as early as possible.

• Impaired vision
• Night blindness
• Sensitivity to light
• Tunnel vision
• Loss of peripheral vision
• Total loss of sight

There are a number of conditions that can cause retinal degeneration, including:

• Artery or vein occlusion
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Hereditary disease

The two most common degenerative retinal diseases: Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – AMD is the most common cause of vision loss in the over 50s. The macula is a part of the retina (the size of grain of sand) that controls how you see colour and detail. Deterioration of the macular can cause a blind spot in the middle of the eye. There are two types of AMD, ‘wet’ and ‘dry’. The most common is Dry AMD, where sufferers gradually develop a blind spot in their central vision over many years. Recent studies are showing you can slow its onset with a controlled healthy diet. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) – RP is an inherited and degenerative eye disease that causes loss of your vision, and over time can lead to total blindness. Some people can start to see symptoms as a young child, while the majority tend to experience issues later in life. RP progressively destroys the light receptors at the back of your eye. While there is no cure, there are a number of treatment options available to you, such as vitamin supplements that can slow down the onset of the condition, protecting your sight for longer. One of the real challenges of RP is that sufferers have to adapt to less and less sight, always needing to adjust their life to manage the condition.