Search

Your generous support allows Retina UK to fund the work of leading scientists who are increasing understanding of inherited sight loss and moving us closer to treatments.

• News

Your doctor or genetic counsellor will spend some time asking about other people in your family to try to work out the way in which your particular faulty gene has been passed down through the generations – this is referred to as the inheritance pattern.

Genes exist inside all the cells that make up your body. They contain genetic code (DNA) and provide instructions for constructing proteins, which are the building blocks of our bodies and perform a huge variety of roles.

Bhavini was diagnosed with RP in 1997 aged 17. The consultant who confirmed her diagnosis told her that “there was no cure or treatment and she should prepare to go blind".

• Case study - community
• Written

When we talk about gene therapy we are usually referring to use of a harmless virus, called a vector, to deliver a normal copy of a defective gene into the cells of the eye.

Stem cells are a special type of cell, which under the right conditions can be encouraged to grow into any other type of cell in the body, including retinal cells (rods, cones and retinal pigment epithelial cells).

Retina UK aims not only to progress research along established threads, but to stimulate new thinking, encourage innovative approaches and nurture original ideas.

These frequently asked questions should provide a response for most of the queries you might raise.