Stargardt's Disease
by Vipra
(United States)
Hello,
My dad has Stargardts disease with low vision in both eyes. Is there any treatment available for this problem?
REPLY
Hi Vipra,
Stargardt's is a genetic form of macular dystrophy. It results in a dying of the photoreceptor cells in the macula which provide us with our detailed and central vision. So at this time there isn't any treatment that can restore these dead cells.
However, there are many excellent visual aids to assist people like your father. To learn more about Stargardt's disease, low vision rehab and visual aids go to:
Stargardt's Disease
Kind Regards,
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
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Stargardt's Disease
by Selvaraja
(Kualalumpur, Malaysia)
Hello Doctor,
My age is 35. I am suffering from Stargardt's disease. age 35 at age of 15.
Now my vision is blurry. I'm scared about my vision. So please tell me it's curable or not.
REPLY
Dear Selvaraja,
Don't assume that your blurry vision is due to your retinal disease.
While Stargardt's disease is not curable, I would recommend you be examined by your eye doctor, preferably by a retina specialist, to make sure you don't have something else that could also blur your vision.
How were you originally diagnosed?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
Retina Specialist Fairfax, Virginia
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stargardt's
by Pamela
(Wi)
I wrote to you earlier about having seen two doctors and one telling me i had soft drusen and one saying i have hayd drusen.I went to see a retina specialist and now he tells me he thinks I have Stargardt's disease.
How can three different doctors tell me three different things. What are the chances of it being Stargardt's when I am already in my thirties and am having no trouble with my vision.
REPLY
Dear Barbara,
I wonder if there is any history in your family? This should give you an idea of your chances. While most inherit this disease as autosomal recessive (both parents carry a recessive gene), there are a few instances where this can be transmitted as a dominant trait.
I believe blood tests could help to see if you are a carrier or if you have the disease. Because of your age, it might be helpful for you to determine this.
It seems we need a specific diagnostic test for Stargardt's, thus, the confusion. While the blood test may help, there is no definite eye test.
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
Dr. Wong is a Retina Specialist in Fairfax Virginia
Retina Specialist
Fairfax Virginia
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Stargardt's Disease and Vitamin A
by Julie
(United States)
Do you have separate recommendations for Stargardt's Disease? They have been recommending restricting Vitamin A. Does your website also deal with this issue?
Answer
Supplementing with Vitamin A is considered contraindicated for Stargardt's Disease as some researchers believe gene mutations lead to abnormal synthesis of the vitamin in the eyes, resulting in increased loss of vision.
Wearing UVA/UVB protecting sunglasses when outdoors is recommended. Although there is no conventional treatment available at present, we recommend supplementing with specific nutrients
that help nourish the retina and/or help protect
photoreceptor cells including:
lutein,
zeaxanthin,
mesozeaxanthin,
bilberry,
omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil),
taurine,
alpha lipoic acid,
ginko biloba (support circulation), and
CoQ10 with n-acetyl-carnitine
to help support energy production in the retinal cells.
Please let me know if you need anything further clarified.
Take care, Michael
Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac.
Natural Eye Care
845-255-8222
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Stargardts - Juvenile Macular Degeneration
by Jocelyn
(Canada)
I was just wondering if your information on AMD applies to people with juvenile macular degeneration (Stargardts macular disorder).
My son has been diagnosed with Stargardts.
I enjoy reading your website.
REPLY
Hi Jocelyn,
There are some similarities - but the main consideration is that patient's with Stargardt's should not supplement with Vitamin A.
It is believed that gene mutations in Stargardt's patients lead to abnormal synthesis of this vitamin in the eyes which then results in increased loss of vision.
Kind Regards,
Leslie Degner, RN,BSN
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Stargardt's Juvenile Macular Degeneration - Europe
by Sue
Dear Leslie,
Thank you for providing this wonderful source of up to date information on macular degeneration. I have a question to ask of you.
My 19 year old son Henry was diagnosed with the juvenile form of Stargaarts disease - fundis flavimaculatus - about 4 years ago.
We are heading over to Europe (England, France, Switzerland and Italy) on a family holiday at the end of October this year.
We will be over there for 4 weeks. I was wondering if you could suggest/recommend any person, place or facility that we could visit whilst we are there to learn more about the state of research into Henry's eye disorder?
Thanks in advance for your reply. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Sue
REPLY
Hi Sue,
There is one clinical trial for Stargardt's disease in Rome, Italy using Saffron supplementation. It is a double blind study randomizing participants which means some participants will receive the placebo study while the other group will receive the active ingredient - saffron.
Saffron Supplementation in Stargardt's Disease
Hope your family has a wonderful trip.
Kind Regards,
Leslie
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Stargardt's Macular Degeneration
by Essoh
(Morocco)
Dear Friend Leslie Degner,
Hi this is Mr Essoh writing and struggling to gather my words. In fact I have a macular degeneration sickness, this happened to me when i was a child.
My parents are poor and they didn't know and still don't know what this sickness means. No one in my country Morocco is able to assess nor to do anything. All doctors are the same. They say you have a Stargardt sickness.
It's like you say, a brown spot covering the central vision in both eyes. It's really a life handicap for me. I'm really not happy because my vision is getting weaker and weaker.
Many things are said about this eye disease, but true materials are still weak to count on.
We are really expecting, like everyone all over the world, to see a change for the best in the field of this macular degeneration.
For people like me at the age of sixty feeling all the time to loose one's vision is really hard to stand.
For the treatment I use lutein and sometimes when there is luck of this food, I use spinach regularly. But I don't feel any progress getting rid of this sickness, but it is still eating my central vision.
From the left eye I can't see anything. I use only the right eye which is also getting gradually weaker.
Sincerely Yours,
Essoh from Morocco
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Stargardt's like macular dystrophy - Genetic Testing
by Jen
(Port Coquitlam B.C, Canada)
Hi there,
My mother was diagnosed of having autosomal dominant Stargardt's like macular dystrophy. I was wondering if there was any genetic testing to confirm that it is dominant or recessive and where?
Thank you so much for any information,
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Here is a link that you may find useful on genetic testing for Stargardt's.
Genetic Testing for Stargardt's
Kind Regards,
Leslie Degner, RN, BSN
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