Call for action on inherited eye disease

A vision charity has called for inherited retinal disorders to become a research priority after being confirmed as the leading cause of certifiable blindness among working age adults in England and Wales.

According to RP Fighting Blindness, conditions including retinitis pigmentosa overtook diabetic retinopathy/maculopathy as leading causes in a recent research paper. The change was attributed to the introduction of nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programmes and improved glycaemic control.

Professor Sir Peng T Khaw, director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL, hailed the paper, A comparison of the causes of blindness certifications in England and Wales in working age adults (16-64 years), 1999-2000 with 2009-2010, which was published late last year.