Stargardt disease cannot be prevented although you can help slow the vision loss with Stargardt disease by wearing a hat and sunglasses to protect the eyes from sunlight when you are outside.
Stargardt does run in families and is passed on in families in an autosomal recessive pattern.
What this means is that someone with Stargardt will have two changed copies of the ABCA4 gene.
The will then have inherited one changed copy from their father and the other copy from their mother.
Stargardt disease is caused by mutations in the adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporter 4 (ABCR 4) gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.
It is a heterogeneous disease with a myriad of clinical presentations, which vastly vary in the age of onset and the disease progression rates.
Stargardt disease is a rare genetic eye disease that happens when fatty material builds up on the macula — the small part of the retina needed for sharp, central vision.
Vision loss usually starts in childhood — but some people with Stargardt disease don't start to lose their vision until they're adults.
Children with Stargardt often first experience symptoms between the ages of 6 and 12.
They may begin to find it difficult to adapt from dark to light or light to dark surroundings (known as 'dark-adaptation').
However, some do not have any symptoms until adulthood.
Stargardt disease is usually diagnosed in people under the age of 20.
Stargardt disease is the most common form of juvenile macular degeneration.
Although it's unlikely to cause complete blindness, the loss of central vision can make it difficult to do everyday tasks.
You may find it helpful to use low vision aids.
Currently, Stargardt disease can't be prevented. Nor are there specific treatments.
But certain lifestyle measures can help slow vision loss.
At the same time, new therapies are showing promise in clinical trials.
Stargardt disease progresses the most quickly when it appears early.
Adult onset cases are possible, and usually progress more slowly.
Beyond that, rates of disease progression vary widely, from about 0.28 to 1.58 mm2 of loss per year.
One promising study involves delivering a healthy version of the gene that causes Stargardt disease, ABCA4, into retinal cells to restore production of the normal protein.
Gildeuretinol is the first and only medicine in clinical development to treat Stargardt disease by reducing vitamin A dimerization in the eye, without affecting normal vision.
It decreased vitamin A dimerization by more than 80% and prevented blindness in a genetic animal model of the disease in preclinical trials.