Retinitis Pigmentosa

What is retinitis pigmentosa?

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of rare genetic conditions that cause problems with vision. These conditions are more noticeable in dim light and at the edges of your visual field.

Retinitis pigmentosa causes

Retinitis pigmentosa is genetic¹. You can only inherit it from one or both of your parents. It isn’t caused by your environment or any eye injuries. It’s a rare disorder that affects roughly 1 in 4,000 people.¹

Your retina is like a screen at the back of your eye. It is filled with special cells that detect light; rods, which detect white light, and cones, which detect coloured light. They absorb the light that comes into your eye and turn it into electrical signals that your brain can understand. Some of your genes make the proteins that these cells need to help them detect light. If you have retinitis pigmentosa, the genes that make these proteins don’t work properly, so the rods and cones stop working and eventually die.¹,²

Retinitis pigmentosa symptoms

Some people with retinitis pigmentosa begin noticing the symptoms in childhood,¹ but others might not notice symptoms until the age of 30 or later.²

At first, you might notice that it’s more difficult to see in dim light and in the dark. Also, you may notice that bright lights are uncomfortable to look at or it takes you longer to adjust to changes in light levels.¹ People with normal vision can adjust to dim light in 15 to 30 minutes, but people with retinitis pigmentosa will take longer, or may be unable to adjust at all.² You might also notice that you can no longer see things at the edges of your visual field, causing you to trip or walk into things.¹

Retinitis pigmentosa tends to get gradually worse as time goes on. As your visual field narrows, you may get tunnel vision. This means you can only see a small area at a time, as if you were looking through a tunnel or tube.¹ In later life, you may have trouble seeing even this small area, which can make it difficult to recognise people or to read.²

Retinitis pigmentosa progresses differently for different people, because there are lots of different genes that can cause it.¹

Retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis

If you think you might have retinitis pigmentosa, you should talk to your optometrist. We’ll be able to examine your eyes and let you know for sure. We will also be able to give you advice about living with retinitis pigmentosa if you do have it.

During the appointment, we will use techniques to look into your eye and get a good look at your retina. If you have retinitis pigmentosa, we will probably be able to see dark streaks on your retina.¹,²

You may also be given a field of vision test. With this, you’ll be shown dots of light in front of you and to the sides. You’ll then be asked to press a button to indicate when you can see them. This will show us how wide your visual field is.¹

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Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis

Citations

https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/retinitis-pigmentosa