Blindness

The Foundation Fighting Blindness

The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) is the largest private and charitable funder of vision research in Canada. 

On March 15, 1974, the FFB received its charitable status as the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation of Canada.  In 2000, the name was changed the Foundation...

Learn more about the The Foundation Fighting Blindness.

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Since 1974, The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Canada’s largest registered charity for sight saving research, has contributed over $20 million to cutting edge research into the causes, treatments and cures for retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and related retinal eye diseases. “A Cure is in Sight” thanks to Foundation funded discoveries.

Retinal Degenerative Diseases

Millions of people in North America live with varying degrees of irreversible vision loss because they have an untreatable, degenerative eye disorder like retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Retinal degenerative diseases affect the delicate layer of tissue that lines the inside back of the eye. This part of the eye - the retina - is essential for vision.

The RP family is generally thought to be an inherited form of eye disease, even if a person who develops it has no previous family history of vision loss. The list of inherited retinal dystrophies (degenerations) is very long, but here are a few of the more common: Best disease (affects central vision at an early age), Choroideremia (affects males), Cone-rod dystrophy, Congenital stationary night blindness, Leber congenital amaurosis (RP at birth)

Retinal Degenerative Diseases include:

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)is a family of eye diseases that cause gradual deterioration of the retina. The most common form of RP follows a progressive pattern: loss of night vision (nyctalopia), loss of side (peripheral) vision and finally, very restricted tunnel vision. In some cases blindness is the eventual outcome.

Usher Syndrome is an inherited family of disorders that involve hearing loss and visual impairment caused by RP. Usher syndrome is actually a family of disorders and is the major cause of deaf-blindness in the world.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD): is an eye disease that affects a small, specific area of the retina called the macula. The macula gives us our clear, straight-ahead vision, as well as the ability to see colours, fine details and recognize faces. It affects about 35% of the population over the age of 75 years, and about 10% of these individuals will suffer debilitating vision loss.

For more information, visit www.ffb.ca.