Retinitis pigmentosa

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Eye

Retinitis pigmentosa

Alternative Names:

RP
Treatment:

There is no effective treatment for this condition. The use of sunglasses to protect the retina from ultraviolet light may have a vision-preserving effect.

Though controversial, recent studies have indicated that treatment with antioxidant agents (such as Vitamin A palmitate) may delay the progression of this disease.

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Referral to a low vision specialist is very helpful in maintaining patient independence. Regular visits to your eye care specialist are important to monitor for the development of cataracts or retinal swelling -- both of which can be treated.

Expectations (prognosis):

The disorder will continue to progress, though at a very slow pace. Complete blindness is uncommon.

Complications:

Peripheral and central loss of vision will eventually occur.

Many other syndromes with features similar to retinitis pigmentosa have been described, including:

Friedreich's ataxia
Mucopolysaccharidosis
Muscular dystrophy (myotonic dystrophy)
Laurence-Moon syndrome (also called Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome, an inherited disorder causing mental deficiency, obesity, short stature, vision problems, and muscular weakness)

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if night vision becomes difficult or if other symptoms of this disorder develop.