Definition:
Leber's Disease, medically referred to as Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), is a disease in which retinal ganglion cells degenerate causing loss of central vision. This disease occurs only on males.
Diagnosis:
Leber's Disease is difficult to diagnose, and usually suspected patients undergo a neuro-ophthalmological test as well as DNA assessment in order to find strains of the syndrome.
Treatment:
There is no standard cure yet for Leber's Disease. Recent studies have proposed the drug Minocycline as a treatment for the disease, as well as Idebenone. But actual effects on trial cases have not yet confirmed the effectivity of the drugs.
Symptoms and Signs:
Symptoms of Leber's Disease include visual loss beginning from one eye followed by the other. Swollen peripapillary vessels soon develop, leading to loss of color vision as well as a cecocentral scotoma which can be found during field tests.
Causes:
Leber's Disease is caused by changes in the mitochondrial DNA. Mutations in the said DNA often causes disruptions in the cell's production of energy, and one of these syndromes lead to Leber's Disease.
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