Q: My mother suffers from retina pigmentosa. My mother has undergone eye operation of fixing lens (IOL) in Aravindo eye hospital, Madurai, India for one eye in 1992 and another eye in the year of 2001. For the first eye she got 50% vision (left eye), but for the eye which was operated recently, the result was not that much good. Is there any treatment for retina pigmentation?

A:There is no specific treatment for retinitis pigmentosa as this is a genetically linked disease and can have expression at various levels. The patient may benefit by some dietary adjustments (by taking a copper free diet) and by taking oral Vit A 15,000 i.u. daily of 50,000 i.u. twice a week on a regular basis. The reason one eye sees better than the other is based on the retinal status, the extent and progression of the disease and whether the central retina and optic nerve are involved in the disease process or not. Unfortunately, surgery on the retina is not possible. Field expanders (a form of low vision devise) may help her to see a little better.