Blindness

Blindness is a medical condition involving the loss of sight that can be congenital, or acquired due to disease or accident.American Foundation for the Blind: Numbers of Legally Blind Americans

Vision involves both the eyes and the brain. A problem anywhere in the system can interfere with the processing of light and images that enables a person to see, causing visual impairment. Blindness can be experienced as total darkness, or as the inablility to perceive anything but light and shadows.KidsHealth: Blindness Some conditions that can cause blindness are: cataracts, glaucoma, uveitis, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and apraxia of the eyelid.National Federation for the Blind: Diabetes Action Network

Leber's congenital amaurosis is the cause of the blindness experienced by Scott MacIntyre, a contestant on the eighth season of American Idol, and his sister.Phoenix New Times: Scottsdale's Scott MacIntyre (January 13, 2009) It is an inherited disease of the retina that is caused by a problem in the photoreceptor cells that accounts for 10-18% of all cases of congenital blindness. Not all individuals with the disease are totally blind, some have vision as good as 20/70.TSBVI: Leber's Congenital Amaurosis

Leber's is a recessive trait, so both parents must carry the gene for the child to be affected.TSBVI: Leber's Congenital Amaurosis

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have concerns about blindness, please consult your doctor.

• Pub Med: Blindness: How to Assess Numbers and Causes? (March 2003)