Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment. RP is caused by abnormalities of the photoreceptors (rods and cones).
About Retinitis Pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina—which is the light sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. Common symptoms include difficulty seeing at night and a loss of side (peripheral) vision.
The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptors and other cell types.
What causes RP?
RP is an inherited disorder that results from harmful changes in any one of more than 50 genes. These genes carry the instructions for making proteins that are needed in cells within the retina, called photoreceptors. Some of the changes, or mutations, within genes are so severe that the gene cannot make the required protein, limiting the cellĂs function. Other mutations produce a protein that is toxic to the cell. Still other mutations lead to an abnormal protein that doesn’t function properly. In all three cases, the result is damage to the photoreceptors. NIH – National Eye Institute