Skip to main content

  • Why has my daughter’s night blindness changed recently?


    Question:

    My daughter has Leber congenital amaurosis (a condition that one is born with that causes severe vision loss). She is legally blind. She still has some day vision left and it has been stable. At night she is blind, she sees all dark. But a few days ago, she said that instead of seeing all dark at night, it was more like a greyish white. Do you know why this is happening?


    Answer:

    Patients with retinal degenerations, like Leber’s, may have retinal cells that function differently in varying light levels. However, it is unclear why she has started to notice this more recently. It is important that she have genetic testing. This is because some patients with Leber’s have a specific mutation, RPE65, which may benefit from a new gene therapy that has received FDA approval. Talk to your daughter’s ophthalmologist.


    Answered By:

    Diseases