Usher Syndrome

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Usher syndrome (sometimes referred to as "Usher's syndrome") is a relatively rare genetic disorder that is a leading cause of deafblindness and that is associated with a mutation in any one of 10 genes. Other names for Usher syndrome include Hallgren syndrome, Usher-Hallgren syndrome, rp-dysacusis syndrome and dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome. Usher syndrome is incurable at present; however, using gene therapy to replace the missing gene, researchers have succeeded in reversing one form of the disease in knockout mice. This syndrome is characterized by deafness and a gradual vision loss. The hearing loss is associated with a defective inner ear, whereas the vision loss is associated with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degeneration of the retinal cells. Usually, the rod cells of the retina are affected first, leading to early night blindness and the gradual loss of peripheral vision.