In the clinic, we often see patients diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa who have been transferred to many hospitals, undergone many tests, spent a lot of money, and even received so-called stem cell therapy or surgery, but their symptoms have not improved. Seeing that patients are in a hurry to seek medical help before getting standardized treatment, we think we should let people have a basic and correct understanding of retinitis pigmentosa to avoid unnecessary loss of human and financial resources. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a group of diseases that can cause progressive vision loss, mainly in the retina at the base of the eye. The retina contains cells that respond to external light, known as photoreceptors, and there is a progressive loss of function of these cells, resulting in a range of symptoms. The main symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa include the following: 1. Night blindness: This is the earliest symptom, often occurring in childhood or adolescence. Patients have difficulty seeing at dusk or in dimmer light, causing difficulty moving around, as well as difficulty adapting from brighter to darker environments. Because this symptom is not obvious, it is often overlooked. Therefore, if there is a loss of vision and difficulty seeing in darker environments, a prompt visit to the hospital is required for further examination. 2, peripheral visual field defects: With the development of the disease, the peripheral visual field gradually shrinks, and by the age of 40, most patients have very poor peripheral vision, but can still maintain fairly good central vision, but because they are in a tubular vision state, their actions are more restricted. The incidence of retinitis pigmentosa is about 1/4000-5000, often starting in childhood or early adolescence, worsening in adolescence, gradually narrowing the visual field, and decreasing central vision in middle age or old age, which can lead to blindness in severe cases. However, the progression of the disease is relatively slow and patients who are diagnosed do not become blind quickly. The typical fundus changes are a waxy yellow color of the optic papillae, narrowing of the retinal vessels, and osteoblast-like pigmentation. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease. Inherited diseases are those in which the disease is caused by certain genetic factors, either from a parent or a family member who has passed on the disease-causing gene to their child, or from a genetic mutation that causes an epidemic case. The known modes of inheritance of retinitis pigmentosa include autosomal dominant (about 20-25%), autosomal recessive (about 15-20%), sex-linked (about 5-10%), a few polygenic and mitochondrial inheritance, and about 45-50% of patients with no clear family history of inheritance in an epidemic form. Retinitis pigmentosa is divided into many different types. Some patients have only ocular diseases and manifestations, while others have a variety of syndromes with other organ pathologies throughout the body, such as deafness, polydactyly (multiple toes), and abnormal development of reproductive organs. By determining which mode of inheritance or which genetic mutation is responsible for the disease, it can help determine the risk of disease in offspring. For patients suspected of having retinal degeneration, the doctor may prescribe a number of tests, including the following: 1. Visual acuity: An optometric examination will generally be performed to check corrected visual acuity, which is the best visual acuity with glasses. 2.Visual field: It can help determine the patient’s peripheral vision, clarify whether there is any peripheral visual field damage, and assess the severity of the condition. 3, color vision: the cells that affect color vision are mainly located in the center of the retina, a simple evaluation of color vision can help evaluate the damage to the center of the retina. 4.Electroretinography (ERG): Diagnosis is made by capturing the electrical signal of the retina. If retinitis pigmentosa has caused damage to the retina, the signal obtained is abnormal. 5. OCT (optical coherence tomography): This is a simple test, different from ordinary CT, which is an optical examination of the retinal section, allowing the structure of each layer of the retina to be seen. It takes only a few minutes to complete the examination, there is no radiation, and there is no damage to the eye. This simple examination allows you to clearly see if the photoreceptor cell layer is involved and is an important form of evaluation. 6.Color fundus photography and fundus fluorescence angiography. 5.Blood sampling: More than 50 kinds of genes related to retinitis pigmentosa have been discovered. Blood sampling for genetic analysis and genetic testing can help patients clarify the specific disease-causing genes, so as to analyze whether the disease-causing genes are produced by new mutations or inherited from both parents, project the risk of passing on the disease to the next generation, propose reproductive countermeasures and suggestions to patients or their families, and prepare for possible gene therapy in the future. Preparation for possible future gene therapy. Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for patients with retinitis pigmentosa. There are reports that appropriate use of eye supplements containing lutein or foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids may have some effect in slowing the progression. Treatment of concurrent eye disease can help patients improve their visual acuity. Once the diagnosis is clear, regular follow-up visits to the hospital should be made. Fundus and visual field examinations need to be reviewed annually. When the visual acuity decreases to 0.2 or is tube-sighted, vision aids can be tried and necessary training can be given. Patients with macular edema can be treated with medication or laser. Patients with concurrent cataracts can be treated with cataract removal and IOL implantation. Although there is no definite treatment, we hope you can live optimistically and confidently. Because there are many studies related to the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa underway, there is a great possibility of practical application to patients in the future. For example, it may be possible to replace the disease-causing gene that causes retinitis pigmentosa with a new normal gene, and attempts are being made to replace damaged cells with cells from a healthy retina or to implant an artificial retina. These studies are in various stages of trials and it is believed that in the near future, better treatments for retinitis pigmentosa could be found. Once again, we would like to remind patients and their families that there is no specific treatment for retinitis pigmentosa. Many irregular medical institutions claim that they can treat retinitis pigmentosa with surgery or traditional Chinese medicine, but most of them take advantage of patients’ eagerness to seek medical treatment and make illegal profits! We hope that you can understand the basic knowledge of retinitis pigmentosa and treat the disease correctly to prevent unnecessary losses. Patients and their families must not seek medical help in an emergency to avoid being cheated!