eye disorders
Retinitis Pigmentosa
Symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa
The photoreceptor (light-sensing) cells of the retina that enable people to see at night or in the dark or dim light (called rods) gradually degenerate. As a result, seeing at night or in the dark or dim light becomes difficult. Symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa begin at various ages, often in childhood. Over time, peripheral vision progressively deteriorates and can evolve into legal blindness. People may eventually lose the ability to see at night or in dim light. In the late stages of the disease, the person typically has only a small area of central vision and possibly no peripheral vision remaining (tunnel vision). Sometimes in late stages the macula, the area of the retina responsible for central vision, swells. This swelling is called macular edema and affects central vision. 