Although they're rare, there are several genetic eye diseases. They include Color Vision Deficiency, Norrie Disease, Oculocutaneous Albinism and Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy. If you suspect you or someone else suffers from one of these diseases, contact your physician.
Genetic Disease
A genetic disease may be passed on from parents to their children through their genes. Genetic diseases are different from other diseases because they show up within families repeatedly. Often, the risk of another family member having the genetic disease can be predicted by a physician.
Color Vision Deficiency
Color Vision Deficiency, also know as color blindness. is a condition that is directly related to your perception of color. Depending on the severity of the disease, you can be unable to see any variation of color and only see in shades of white, black and gray. There are lesser defects where you are unable to see red and green or blue and yellow. This disease is more commonly found in males than females.
Norrie Disease
Norrie Disease is a rare disorder that leads to blindness in male infants at birth or soon after birth. A female can carry the gene and pass it on to her children, but she usually does not suffer from any of the symptoms. About a third of the males that have Norrie Disease will develop hearing loss, and half of them will be plagued with motor development delays.
Oculocutaneous Albinism
Oculocutaneous albinism affects coloring (pigmentation) of the skin, hair and eyes. It reduces the pigmentation of the iris (the colored part of the eye) and retina (the tissue at the back of the eye). Individuals who have this disease have problems such as reduced sharpness, rapid and involuntary eye movement and increased sensitivity to light. Oculocutaneous Albinism affects an estimated 1 in 20,000 people worldwide.
Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy
Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy is a genetic eye disease that can cause loss of progressive vision. It affects the macula which is responsible for things like driving and reading. There are two types of Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy. One that can appear during childhood and one that can appear in middle age. Both forms can be detected during an eye examination. It is associated with an abnormality in the VMD2 gene.
Tags: Macular Dystrophy, Norrie Disease, Vitelliform Macular, Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy, Color Vision