Hereditary Eye Diseases That Cause Blindness

It has no early symptoms and therefore is called the silent thief of sight.
Hereditary eye diseases that cause blindness. Glaucoma accounts for 1 out of every 7 cases of blindness in us. Glaucoma is also known as the silent sight thief as there may be no symptoms until it is too late. Genetic factors play a role in many kinds of eye disease including those diseases that are the leading cause of blindness among infants children and adults. Some of these occur often and some may occur rarely.
Glaucoma is one of the most common chronic eye diseases for seniors and is the leading cause of blindness for those over the age of 64. Most individuals with the syndrome experience clusters of attacks months or years apart followed by partial recovery during periods of remission. The syndrome can cause blindness in one or both eyes and can be followed by varying degrees of paralysis in the arms and legs. Choroideremia retinitis pigmentosa usher syndrome juvenile x linked retinoschisis achromatopsia stargardt disease anophthalmia and microphthalmia gyrate atrophy leber hereditary optic neuropathy.
It is a medical condition in which the optics nerve is damaged by high eye pressure. Stargardt s disease best disease and juvenile retinoschisis are the major eye diseases constituting juvenile macular degeneration. Patients with diabetes can lose vision from swelling or bleeding in the retina or from retinal detachment. One of the most common eye diseases that cause blindness.
Amd affects the macula in adults while jmd affects the macula in children teens and young adults. There are more than 350 hereditary eye diseases such as albinism aniridia colorblindness corneal dystrophies glaucoma keratoconus leber congenital amaurosis night blindness retinitis pigmentosa and retinoblastoma to name just a few. Genetic and rare diseases information center gard po box 8126 gaithersburg md 20898 8126 toll free. So here is a list of 10 rare eye diseases and how they can be treated.
Half the people with glaucoma do not know they have it. Amd and jmd not only seem synonymous they work the same way as well i e. Medical term for inflammation of cornea. Catch it before it acts.
If you have problems viewing pdf files download the latest version of adobe reader. More than 60 percent of cases of blindness among infants are caused by inherited eye diseases such as congenital present at birth cataracts congenital glaucoma retinal degeneration optic atrophy and eye malformations. This disease gradually reduces your peripheral vision. The onset of nmo varies from childhood to adulthood with two peaks one in childhood and the other in adults in their 40s.
Diabetics can decrease their risk of legal blindness with good blood sugar and blood pressure control and annual eye exams. For language access assistance contact the ncats public information officer.