What is Stargardt's Disease?

Stargardt's Disease is a rare genetic condition that varying degrees of vision loss. It usually starts during adolescence but may start later in some affected individuals. It is sometimes called juvenile macular degeneration, or juvenile macular dystrophy because it can resemble the degeneration seen in Age Related Macular Degeneration except that it usually starts decades earlier. In Stargardt's disease a defective gene leads to a fatty deposit in the center of the retina which leads to progressive damage of the central vision. This can be damaging to a person's ability to read, to drive, or to see faces although it does not lead to total blindness by itself. At this time there is no cure for Stargardt's disease but there are ways to help maintain some function. If you or a loved one is dealing with these challenges, please reach out to a low vision specialist who may be able to help. If you're looking for low vision services in Connecticut, please call our office at (800)756-0766.