Retinitis \Ret`i*ni"tis\, n. [NL., fr. NL. & E. retina + -tis.] (Med.) Inflammation of the retina.
The affair will raise money to further research and help victims of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary retinal disease that causes progressive loss of vision.
The discovery follows by less than a month the announcement that researchers had identified a genetic defect associated with another form of retinitis pigmentosa, the so-called autosomal dominant form. That form is not accompanied by hearing loss.
But he added, "Believe me, if I had CMV retinitis and couldn't see, I'd be upset at the regulatory environment."
Separately, the FDA approved the drug foscarnet for the treatment of AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus retinitis, an eye infection that can lead to blindness.
The committee's decision was based on new data that found ganciclovir is effective in treating cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS patients.
The drug has until now been administered through a permanent catheter in the chest to patients who have already developed CMV retinitis.
Defects in the gene cause a disease called Type II Usher syndrome, which is marked by retinitis pigmentosa and moderate hearing impairment, according to an announcement Monday by the National Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation in Baltimore.