Genetic Blindness Causes

Optic neuritis is inflammation that can cause temporary or permanent vision loss.

Genetic blindness causes.

Visual impairment can also be caused by problems in the brain due to stroke premature birth or trauma among others. Disorders of the globe are often caused by abnormal closure of the fetal fissure resulting in colobomatous malformations and microphthalmia. Treatment for the most common inherited cause of blindness retinitis pigmentosa is one step closer according to investigators at the research institute of the mcgill university health centre. A variety of genetic diseases may lead to blindness by affecting the entire globe primarily the anterior segment cornea and lens or primarily the posterior segment retina and optic nerve of the eye.

Disorders of the globe are often caused by abnormal closure of the fetal fissure resulting in colobomatous malformations and microphthalmia. Abnormal activity in the gene called mark3 has been identified as the cause of a genetic disorder that results in blindness and other visual impairments. Genetic factors play a role in many kinds of eye disease including those diseases that are the leading cause of blindness among infants children and adults. After analyzing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene mark3 as being the cause.

Other disorders that may cause visual problems include age related macular degeneration diabetic retinopathy corneal clouding childhood blindness and a number of infections. Although there are no global statistics which let us know the extent of the burden of visual impairment from genetic causes it does seem that genetic eye pathology represents a significant percentage of the causes of blindness in industrialized countries. The discovery is made by a research team. A variety of genetic diseases may lead to blindness by affecting the entire globe primarily the anterior segment cornea and lens or primarily the posterior segment retina and optic nerve of the eye.

Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness. Knowledge about genetic eye diseases has increased dramatically during the last twenty years. More than 60 percent of cases of blindness among infants are caused by inherited eye diseases such as congenital present at birth cataracts congenital glaucoma retinal degeneration optic atrophy and eye malformations. Little data are available from most developing and newly industrialised countries concerning the relative importance of hereditary diseases as a cause of childhood blindness.