Request. Hi, my 71 year old father is suffering from retinitis pigmentosa with the first symptoms at 45. No one else in the family suffers from it, but now for a month or so it has experienced a sudden worsening. Probably as a result of a sudden high blood pressure that lasted a few days, his left eye has almost completely lost his vision (which has already worsened for a few years). From his right eye he had little field of vision, but when he was able to concentrate his sight he saw where he was looking, but in fact for a month he has seen even less and says he always has a fog in front of him, but we in the family realize that it has gotten worse a lot. Is there a therapy, including supplements to strengthen the retina? They told me about a supplement based on docosahexaenoic acid: is it appropriate to start this therapy or is it not worth it? It should be borne in mind that he also suffers from other pathologies: post-infarct ischemic heart disease already revascularized percutaneously, abnormal fasting glycaemia, monoclonal gammopathy, macrocytosis, hereditary-heterozygous hemochromatosis H63D.
Retinitis pigmentosa and macular edema, which solutions
Do you also want to ask a question to a health retina expert? Write to [email protected]
Retinitis pigmentosa: tests to understand if there are complications
Reply. Pigmentary retinopathy is part of a genetically heterogeneous group of retinal degenerations and can occur sporadically as did your father. The symptoms are characterized by a strong reduction of vision in poorly lit or dark environments and due to progressive degeneration of the retinal photoreceptors. The field of vision decreases and visual acuity decreases. The concomitant pathologies unfortunately favor the evolution of the disease, so it is necessary to follow well above all the vascular pathology and the macrocytosis of his father. As you know, there is no effective therapy, although slowing of disease progression with various substances has been reported but not proven. Food supplements are concentrates of nutrients intended to supplement our diet. Specifically, this supplement that he mentions provides pure docosahexaenoic acid useful for countering inflammatory processes and theoretically the worsening of the disease. Taking food supplements that make up for our shortcomings can be helpful. But since the supplements contain excipients necessary for their conservation and for their absorption into the body, it is always recommended to take them in cycles of a few months to avoid damaging the stomach. But the supplements in no case are a substitute for a varied diet and above all they must be taken within safe limits.
* Claudio Azzolini, full professor of diseases of the visual apparatus at the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Insubria
.