Will heredomacular dystrophy cause severe difficulties?

Question

Hi doctor,

My fiancee has a problem with heredomacular dystrophy, and he is 30 years old. At this age, he does not have many problems. Actually, this disease has been present from the time of birth but was diagnosed ten years ago when he felt he finds difficulty reading very small words. Otherwise, he easily drives a car and does many other daily routine works. His mother is also having a problem. She is now around 53 years of age, and she is also having this problem since birth. She also, at this age, does not have so many problems. They both have faced one common thing, which is reading small words and very small words. I searched on the internet and found many things which scared me. My concern is that if this increase, what is the possible impact of this on him? And if this possibility his dystrophy progress or remains like his mother with no more impact. Or does this disease turns to other terrible diseases like RPE and other diseases? This scares me a lot. Kindly guide me about his problem so that I can make a firm decision about my life.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

There are many types of macular degeneration. Some are stationary, and some are progressive in nature. We need to perform a few tests like OCT (optical coherence tomography) and fundus angiography. These will help in finding the exact nature of dystrophy. The prognosis depends on the type of dystrophy. If it is stationary form, then low vision aids will help him, but if it is of progressive type, then he may face visual problems in the future. There are also chances that it may get inherited by the next generation. So, to summarize, we need to know the exact type of dystrophy to give a visual prognosis. I hope this will help you. Kind regards.