People usually associate vitamin A as being good for the eyes, but the study found that in patients with Stargardt disease, vitamin A transforms into toxic compounds, which cause chronic inflammation, premature ageing of the retina and vision loss.
Stargardt disease affects around 1 in 10,000 people and begins in childhood, leading to progressive loss of central vision. The condition is linked to defects on a gene known as ABCA4. In Stargardt disease, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye - the retina - ages prematurely and granules called ‘lipofuscin’ accumulate.