May is the Second Annual Inherited Retinal Disease and Genetic Testing Month at Prevent Blindness

Prevent Blindness has designated May as its second annual “Inherited Retinal Disease (IRD) and Genetic Testing Month.” To educate the public and allied health professionals, Prevent Blindness offers a variety of free resources on IRDs, including educational videos featuring medical experts and individuals living with an IRD, webpages, and shareable social media graphics and fact sheets in English and Spanish.
 
Prevent Blindness has designated the third week of May to provide education and support specifically for those with Stargardt disease and their care partners, offering resources including a dedicated webpage, social media graphics and fact sheets in English and Spanish, and videos. These resources are made possible with support from Alkeus Pharmaceuticals.
 
New this year, Prevent Blindness is debuting the Focus on Eye Health Series episode, “Stargardt Disease: A Conversation with Bryan and Bradford Manning of Two Blind Brothers.” Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, speaks with the brothers about their journey with Stargardt disease, advice for parents of children with the eye disease, and their nonprofit business that was created to provide funding to cure blindness. The interview will also be featured in the new Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Podcast.
 
Other Focus on Eye Health Series episodes related to IRDs include:

• “Stargardt Disease,” with Elias Traboulsi, MD, MEd, Pediatric Ophthalmologist and Geneticist, Department of Ophthalmology, Cleveland Clinic.
• “Inherited Retinal Disorders and Genetic Testing,” with Alina V. Dumitrescu, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, Inherited Eye Disease at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 

“Early detection and access to treatment is the key to preventing significant vision loss, including for inherited retinal diseases. And genetic testing may also save sight for patients and their family members,” said Mr. Todd. “We encourage the public and health professionals to utilize our various free resources to learn more about IRDs, genetic testing, and steps to take today to save vision in the future.”