Prevent Blindness Declares May 19-25 as Stargardt Disease Awareness Week

CHICAGO—As part of its second annual Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) and Genetic Testing awareness month, Prevent Blindness has declared the week of May 19-25 as Stargardt Disease Awareness Week. Stargardt disease is a rare eye genetic disease that is part of a group of conditions called inherited retinal diseases (or IRDs), generally caused by a variation in one or more genes, causing the gene to not work properly, the announcement said. Stargardt disease typically causes central vision loss in both eyes during childhood or adolescence, but may occur later in life. The disease affects about 1 in 10,000 people in the United States, according to Prevent Blindness.