Retinal Diseases that Cause Blindness

The retina is a layer of tissue in the back of your eye that senses light and sends images to your brain. In the center of the retina is the macula. The macula provides the sharp, central vision needed for reading, driving and seeing fine detail. A healthy retina is essential to good vision. Some retinal diseases can affect this vital tissue. Retinal diseases and disorders can affect your vision, and some can be serious enough to cause blindness.

Examples of retinal diseases that can cause blindness are:

Macular Degeneration: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a retinal degenerative disease that causes a progressive loss of central vision.

Retinitis Pigmentosa: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of genetic eye conditions that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina. Common symptoms include difficulty seeing at night and a loss of side (peripheral) vision.

Stargardt Disease: Stargardt disease is the most common form of inherited juvenile macular degeneration. The progressive vision loss associated with Stargardt disease is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells in the macula.

Rod-Cone Dystrophy: Rod-cone dystrophy results from a primary loss of rod photoreceptors, followed by loss of cones.

Leber Congenital Amaurosis: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is an inherited retinal degenerative disease characterized by severe loss of vision at birth. A variety of other eye-related abnormalities including roving eye movements, deep-set eyes and sensitivity to bright light also occur with this disease. Some patients with LCA also experience central nervous system abnormalities.

Retinoschisis: Juvenile retinoschisis is an inherited disease diagnosed in childhood that causes progressive loss of central and peripheral (side) vision due to degeneration of the retina.

Choroideremia: Choroideremia is a rare inherited disorder that causes progressive loss of vision due to degeneration of the choroid and retina.

Best Disease: Best disease, also known as vitelliform macular dystrophy, is an inherited form of macular degeneration characterized by a loss of central vision.

These are just a few of the retinal diseases that can cause blindness. It is important to have your eyes checked routinely, especially if you have any visual disturbances. To schedule an eye examination with one of our retinal specialists in Phoenix, contact Associated Retina Consultants at 602-242-4928 or associatedretinaconsultants.com today.