Rod Cone Dystrophy
by Chandrakany
(India)
My son is aged 16 yrs. He has macular degeneration which is diagnosed since last five years.
At present his vision is 6/60 in both eyes with rod cone dystrophy.
What is the treatment for him? What is his future?
I am a gynecologist. Thanks.
REPLY
Dear Dr. Chandrakany,
Your son has a macular dystrophy of his rods and cones. He will not go blind (legally sure, but not "lights out" blind). There is no known treatment.
It has been my experience that individuals who lose vision early in life are less disabled than if it occurs later in life.
I wish you all the best, but I am sure that this is not new news to you. Please feel free to write back or email me.
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
Dr. Wong is a Retina Specialist in Fairfax Virginia
Retina Specialist
Fairfax Virginia
Cone Rod Dystrophy
by Usha
(Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
Hi
My daughter's friend suffers from Cone Rod Dystrophy.
Her vision has deteriorated so much so that she now sees in a blur. She is about 22 years old.
Can you please advise if there is treatment for this - possibly - retina graft?
I really want to help this girl. She's like my adopted daughter. I can't bear to see her without sight.
Please help me.
Thank you
Sincerely
Ms Usha
REPLY
Dear Ms. Menon,
I would truly love to offer some help, but there is no treatment for Cone-Rod Dystrophy.
I would recommend, however, that you make sure proper testing was done to make the diagnosis.
Appropriate tests are called and ERG and EOG, so-called "electrophysiologic" tests. It may be tough to find a doctor to performs these (I don't even do them at my office), but they are the best tests to make the diagnosis.
While there may be no treatment, it might be helpful for your "daughter" to know the chances of transmitting the problem to her children in the future.
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
Dr. Wong is a Retina Specialist in Fairfax Virginia
Retina Specialist
Fairfax Virginia
REPLY
Hi Usha,
How kind of you for trying to help your friend's daughter. Although there is not good news right now about treatment, your friend can definitely benefit from many of the low vision aids for this type of macular disease.
One of them is an electronic magnifier.
Kind Regards,
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
