Retinitis Pigmentosa

What is retinitis pigmentosa?

Retinitis Pigmentosa is a genetic disorder that consists in the breakdown or loss of cells in the retina. It is today one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Retinitis Pigmentosa is also a hereditary disease that can start at any period of the patient’s life, but that is usually diagnosed in adolescents and young adults.
While Retinitis Pigmentosa symptoms can vary with different patients, the common signs often are poor night vision, progressive loss of visual field, and the presence of pigments in the back of the eye.

Recent progress

While there is no single treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa, research advances worldwide as scientists study why and how this condition is diagnosed within specific families. Progress has been made and for some patients, taking certain vitamins like Vitamin A palmitate considerably reduced vision loss.
The development of special eye drops also helped the swelling of the retina for others patients. There has even been successful retina implants, helping patients with severe vision loss, due to Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Our treatment

For over two decades now, doctors in Cuba have been offering a treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa that includes a unique and multidisciplinary approach. The treatment comprises eye surgery, ozone therapy, electric stimulation and specific medication. The exact execution of this treatment depends on the stage of the illness, the pathological history of the patient and the evaluation of the medical team. During the first step, eye surgery, flap of orbital vascular adipose tissue is inserted into a sclerochoroidal pocket at the temporal side of the eye, to increase blood flow and stabilize the progress of the disease. Then, ozone therapy, administered rectally or via the bloodstream, aims at boosting antioxidants. After sessions of electric stimulation sessions of the head, neck and soles areas, medications (mostly antiplatelets, antioxidants, immunomodulators, vitamins, and minerals) are administered.
Among 10,000 patients having received these treatments, 78 % noticed that the disease had stopped progressing, 16 % had an improvement of their vision, and only 6 % did not obtain the expected results. The clinics also offer treatments for macular degeneration, a variety of retina dystrophies, cataracts, glaucoma, farsightedness and other visual conditions.