Attempts at transplanting healthy retinal cells into sick retinas are being made experimentally and have not yet been considered as clinically safe and successful. The goal of such research would be to discover ways healthy genes can be inserted into the retina. Since RP is usually the result of a defective gene, gene therapy has become a widely explored area for future research. Research is also being conducted in areas such as gene therapy research, transplant research, and retinal prosthesis. More research must be conducted before this is a widely accepted form of therapy. Taking too much vitamin A can be toxic and the effects of vitamin A on the disease is relatively weak. Research suggests taking high doses of vitamin A (15,000 IU/day) may slow progression a little in some people, but the results are not strong. Some practitioners also consider vitamin A as a possible treatment option to slow down the progression of RP. However, there are few treatment options such as light avoidance and/or the use of low-vision aids to slow down the progression of RP. There is no known cure for retinitis pigmentosa. The disorder also can show up as part of other syndromes, such as Bassen-Kornzweig disease or Kearns-Sayre syndrome. In some cases, a new mutation causes the disease to occur in a person who does not have a family history of the disease. In these cases, only one parent has passed the disease gene. But dominant genes and genes on the X chromosome also have been linked to retinitis pigmentosa. In most cases, the disorder is linked to a recessive gene, a gene that must be inherited from both parents in order to cause the disease. Research suggests that several different types of gene mutations (changes in genes) can send faulty messages to the retinal cells which leads to their progressive degeneration. Doctors can see the first signs of retinitis pigmentosa in affected children as early as age 10. People suffering from RP are born with the disorder already programmed into their cells. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disorder, and therefore not caused by injury, infection or any other external or environmental factors.
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