HTRA1 Gene

Cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy, commonly known as CARASIL, is an inherited condition that causes stroke and other impairments.

Abnormalities affecting the brain and other parts of the nervous system become apparent in an affected person's twenties or thirties. Often, muscle stiffness (spasticity) in the legs and problems with walking are the first signs of the disorder. About half of affected individuals have a stroke or similar episode before age 40. As the disease progresses, most people with CARASIL also develop mood and personality changes, a decline in thinking ability (dementia), memory loss, and worsening problems with movement.

Other characteristic features of CARASIL include premature hair loss (alopecia) and attacks of low back pain. The hair loss often begins during adolescence and is limited to the scalp. Back pain, which develops in early to mid-adulthood, results from the breakdown (degeneration) of the discs that separate the bones of the spine (vertebrae) from one another.

The signs and symptoms of CARASIL worsen slowly with time. Over the course of several years, affected individuals become less able to control their emotions and communicate with others. They increasingly require help with personal care and other activities of daily living; after a few years, they become unable to care for themselves. Most affected individuals die within a decade after signs and symptoms first appear, although few people with the disease have survived for 20 to 30 years.

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that is a leading cause of vision loss in older people in developed countries. Subtle abnormalities indicating changes in vision may occur in a person's forties or fifties. Distorted vision and vision loss usually become noticeable in a person's sixties or seventies and tend to worsen over time.

Age-related macular degeneration mainly affects central vision, which is needed for detailed tasks such as reading, driving, and recognizing faces. The vision loss in this condition results from a gradual deterioration of light-sensing cells in the tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color (the retina). Specifically, age-related macular degeneration affects a small area near the center of the retina, called the macula, which is responsible for central vision. Side (peripheral) vision and night vision are generally not affected, but slow adjustment of vision to darkness (dark adaptation) and reduced dim light (scotopic) vision often occur in the early stages of the disease.

Researchers have described two major types of age-related macular degeneration, known as the dry form and the wet form. The dry form is much more common, accounting for 85 to 90 percent of all cases of age-related macular degeneration. It is characterized by a buildup of yellowish deposits called drusen beneath the retina and vision loss that worsens slowly over time. The most advanced stage of dry age-related macular degeneration is known as geographic atrophy, in which areas of the macula waste away (atrophy), resulting in severe vision loss. Dry age-related macular degeneration typically affects vision in both eyes, although vision loss often occurs in one eye before the other.

In 10 to 15 percent of affected individuals, the dry form progresses to the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. The wet form is characterized by the growth of abnormal, fragile blood vessels underneath the macula. These vessels leak blood and fluid, which damages the macula and makes central vision appear blurry and distorted. The wet form of age-related macular degeneration is associated with severe vision loss that can worsen rapidly.

Age-related macular degeneration is an eye disease that is a leading cause of vision loss in older people in developed countries. Subtle abnormalities indicating changes in vision may occur in a person's forties or fifties. Distorted vision and vision loss usually become noticeable in a person's sixties or seventies and tend to worsen over time.

Age-related macular degeneration mainly affects central vision, which is needed for detailed tasks such as reading, driving, and recognizing faces. The vision loss in this condition results from a gradual deterioration of light-sensing cells in the tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color (the retina). Specifically, age-related macular degeneration affects a small area near the center of the retina, called the macula, which is responsible for central vision. Side (peripheral) vision and night vision are generally not affected, but slow adjustment of vision to darkness (dark adaptation) and reduced dim light (scotopic) vision often occur in the early stages of the disease.

Researchers have described two major types of age-related macular degeneration, known as the dry form and the wet form. The dry form is much more common, accounting for 85 to 90 percent of all cases of age-related macular degeneration. It is characterized by a buildup of yellowish deposits called drusen beneath the retina and vision loss that worsens slowly over time. The most advanced stage of dry age-related macular degeneration is known as geographic atrophy, in which areas of the macula waste away (atrophy), resulting in severe vision loss. Dry age-related macular degeneration typically affects vision in both eyes, although vision loss often occurs in one eye before the other.

In 10 to 15 percent of affected individuals, the dry form progresses to the wet form of age-related macular degeneration. The wet form is characterized by the growth of abnormal, fragile blood vessels underneath the macula. These vessels leak blood and fluid, which damages the macula and makes central vision appear blurry and distorted. The wet form of age-related macular degeneration is associated with severe vision loss that can worsen rapidly.