Browsing: Stargardt Disease

If you have low vision, your standard eyeglasses are not sufficient to help with routine tasks. Your eye doctor may order special glasses for you to help with a variety of everyday tasks. The low vision could be due to many conditions such as macular degeneration.

Stargardt disease (SDGD) is a juvenile form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that affects about 25,000 individuals in the United States alone. People who live with Stargardt disease experience unique challenges with daily life. Here are listed top frustrations and experiences people share about living with the disease.

Your retina is the light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the inside of your eye. It sends visual messages through the optic nerve to the brain. When the retina detaches, it is lifted from its normal position. This can lead to retinal detachment, if not treated, causing even permanent loss of vision.

Stargardt disease is caused by mutations in the ABCA4 gene or the ELOVL4 gene. Clinical diagnosis of Stargardt disease is based on ophthalmological examination, electroretinography, visual field testing, fluorescein angiography, and color testing. Genetic testing is useful for confirming diagnosis, and for differential diagnosis, and for risk assessment.

Stargardt eye disease is a form of inherited juvenile macular degeneration. The disease leads to progressive vision loss due to the death of photoreceptor cells in the central portion of the retina called the macula. The retina is a delicate layer of tissue that lines the back inside wall of the eye.

Late onset Stargardt disease is an age-related macular degeneration (AMD) associated with missense mutation outside functional domains ABCA4. Symptoms of atrophy may initially occur in the parafoveal retina and radially expand in size over time.