Stargart disease

Stargart disease (Juvenile macular dystrophy)

Stargart disease is a very rare eye disease (1 in 10000) usually starts from childhood or young adult years. The small part of the retina needed for sharp, central vision is blur or black, blocking the view. It's not always the center of the vision is blurry or pitch black, sometimes it is some part of the vision depending on the person. It usually doesn't affect side vision, leaving with some part of sight even it is little blurry. Also being the reason people can adjust and livewith it.

Stargardt disease is often called juvenile macular dystrophy. In people with Stargardt disease, special light-sensing cells in the macula, called photoreceptors, die off, making them lose some part of their vision, might even affect seeing colours.

Treatment This disease cannot be cured, you can just manage and adjust to it. But it doesn't make total or pitch black blindness. But it can be up to 6/12 to 6/60, normal vision is 6/6.

Wearing sunglasses may help with the bright light sensitivity of Stargardt disease. Wearing sunglasses can also prevent further retina damage from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

People with Stargardt disease should not smoke cigarettes or be around cigarette smoke. Also, some studies suggest that taking a lot of vitamin A could may make the disease worse. While the vitamin A in foods is fine, avoid taking large doses of it as a supplement.

Cause of Stargart disease

Usually Stargardt disease is passed down from parents. With the classic Stargardt disease, faulty genes (the ABCA4 gene) must be passed down from both parents to have symptoms. Someone who has the gene from only one parent will be a carrier for Stargardt disease, but 5will not have symptoms. Other forms of Stargardt disease need a gene from only one parent to cause symptoms, but those are very rare.

ABCA4 is the reason for stargart disease. This gene provides instructions for making a protein that is found in the retina, specialised light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Making the eye unable to produce or recive light.