Retinitis Pigmentosa is an eye disease that affects a person’s peripheral vision. Peripheral vision loss can be described as Tunnel Vision. Patients with RP have reported difficulties in conditions where there is low light. Loss of Night Vision is one of the key symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa. Driving becomes difficult in low light, fog or at dusk. Movie theaters, dark stairwells and dimly lit restaurants become obstacle courses. Although mobile or navigation difficulties arise, there is no pain or abnormal sensation within the eye area.

While Retinitis Pigmentosa affects the peripheral vision, Age-related Macular Degeneration affects the central vision. Unlike the low light difficulties of

RP, AMD is often worse under bright lighting. Activities that require sharp focusing become exceedingly difficult since the central vision is damaged. (www.nei.nih.gov.). AMD affects the Macula, which is the part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. Activities such as reading, sewing, and driving become impossible or exceedingly arduous. Patients with Macular Degeneration may have blind spots, which are dark areas directly in the central domain of vision. Peripheral and night visions usually are not damaged, although color perception may be impaired. Similar to RP, AMD causes no pain within the retina.

The onset of Retinitis Pigmentosa varies from infancy to the thirties and forties, although patients are mostly diagnosed in young adulthood. On the other hand, Age-related Macular Degeneration usually affects people over the age of 60. There are less frequent reports of patients as young as 40 years old who have developed AMD. While there are no external or environmental teratogens that influence the occurrence of RP, AMD can be stimulated by factors such as smoking, obesity, gender (women are more likely to fall subject to AMD than men), and race (Caucasians are at a greater risk than African Americans). There is no sexual predilection for Retinitis Pigmentosa; men and women are equally affected.

While both RP and AMD attack the cells in the retina, the two diseases are quite different in their retinal deterioration. Retinitis Pigmentosa attacks the delicate layer of rod cells affecting the peripheral vision, while Age-related Macular Degeneration affects the cone cells, damaging central vision. The retina in the eye is made up of these rod cells and cone cells. Rod cells are responsible for seeing movement ou

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