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Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a group of genetic disorders that affect the ability of the retina to respond to light. This is a hereditary and degenerative disease that causes a slow loss of vision. Retinosis or retinitis pigmentosa is a group of eye problems that affect the retina.
Retinitis Pigmentosa is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the light-sensitive structure of the eye, the retina, which gradually loses the main cells that form it, the cones and rods.
This condition changes how the retina responds to light and gradually hinders vision. However, in general they are not completely blind.
It usually affects both eyes causing gradual concentric loss of peripheral vision and in many cases leading to blindness.
Retinosis or retinitis pigmentosa can occur alone or in association with other diseases of the human body. This disease can appear between 25 and 40 years of age. Although it can also happen that retinosis appears in people under 20 years of age, although it is rare for it to appear before adolescence. It can also appear after 50.
The first symptom that the patient will experience whith Retinitis Pigmentosa is difficulty with night vision and in low light conditions. Similarly, there is a progressive loss of the peripheral visual field to form a tunnel vision. As it is a very slow and painless deterioration, the patient may delay his visit to the ophthalmologist. Years can even pass from the beginning of the first symptoms.
One of the first manifestations usually take place in childhood or adolescence and are bilateral (affect both eyes). The disease progresses slowly and gradually over the years.
In the early stages, they consist of night blindness, which begins to manifest as a poor ability to adapt to darkness or loss of vision in poorly lit places. The visual field is progressively reduced giving rise to what is known as tunnel vision, the patient must continually turn his head to visualize what is around him.
With the passage of time, new symptoms appear, such as decreased visual acuity, flashes of light (photopsies) and, in advanced phases, difficulty in color perception and blindness.
Retinitis pigmentosa produces as its main symptoms a slow but progressive decrease in visual acuity which in the early stages predominantly affects night vision and the peripheral field, while maintaining central vision.
The first symptom that the patient will experience is difficulty with night vision and in low light conditions. Similarly, there is a progressive loss of the peripheral visual field to form a tunnel vision. As it is a very slow and painless deterioration, the patient may delay his visit to the ophthalmologist. Years can even pass from the beginning of the first symptoms.
The first symptom of Retinitis Pigmentosa that the patient will experience is difficulty with night vision and in low light conditions. Similarly, there is a progressive loss of the peripheral visual field to form a tunnel vision. As it is a very slow and painless deterioration, the patient may delay his visit to the ophthalmologist. Years can even pass from the beginning of the first symptoms.
These first manifestations usually take place in childhood or adolescence and are bilateral (affect both eyes). The disease progresses slowly and gradually over the years.
In the early stages, they consist of night blindness, which begins to manifest as a poor ability to adapt to darkness or loss of vision in poorly lit places. The visual field is progressively reduced giving rise to what is known as tunnel vision, the patient must continually turn his head to visualize what is around him.
With the passage of time, new symptoms appear, such as decreased visual acuity, flashes of light (photopsies) and, in advanced phases, difficulty in color perception and blindness.
It is important to note that this disease does not affect all people equally, even if they are from the same family.
People with retinitis pigmentosa often develop cataracts at a young age. They may also have inflammation of the retina (macular edema). Cataracts can be removed if they contribute to vision loss.
Many other conditions have similarities to retinitis pigmentosa, such as:
Since it is of genetic origin, the appearance of retinitis pigmentosa cannot be avoided. However, detecting it early makes it possible to anticipate the disease and carry out good ophthalmological monitoring of patients to control possible associated problems (for example, other alterations in the retina or cataract).
As a reinforcement of the clinical diagnosis, having a genetic diagnosis that determines the molecular cause of the pathology is useful to identify its inheritance pattern and indicate the probability of transmitting it. In addition, it allows alerting family carriers and affected members who have not yet developed it, but who may manifest it in the future.
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