May | 2025

You can also listen to the Bryan and Bradford interview on the May episode of the Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Podcast.

Stargardt disease, also called Stargardt macular dystrophy, causes vision loss due to a buildup of fatty material in the macula. The macula is a small area in the center of the retina that is responsible for sharp, straight-ahead vision. Stargardt disease is a rare eye genetic disease – part of a group of conditions called inherited retinal diseases (or IRDs).

Stargardt disease typically causes central vision loss in both eyes during childhood or adolescence, but sometimes it occurs later in life. Central vision loss can cause difficulty recognizing faces and reading. Side (peripheral) vision is usually not affected, so it is rare for a person with Stargardt disease to lose all of their vision.

Stargardt disease resources at Prevent Blindness are made possible with support from Alkeus Pharmaceuticals.

Join Us!

Join us for the 2025 Focus on Eye Health Summit, a groundbreaking gathering of leaders in public health, eye care, and government sectors. This year’s theme, Perspectives in Vision, emphasizes the need for a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to addressing eye health challenges in an evolving world. Registration is free of charge.

Visit PreventBlindness.org/eyesummit to register and for the complete event agenda.

On March 31, 2025, Congressional Vision Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) and Marc Veasey (D-TX-33) reintroduced the Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children (EDVI) Act of 2025 (HR 2527). This legislation seeks to create the first federal public health program to address children’s vision and eye health through grant-based funding to states. It will also establish a national technical assistance center that will conduct surveillance, research, and provide assistance to any state vision health program.

Dr. Stacey Coulter, O.D., M.S., FAAO, FCOVD, Vice Chair of the National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, stated that the EDVI Act has the potential for “ensuring that children can access vision and eye care services that can set the foundation for a lifetime of good vision.”

You can help get this legislation passed into law by sending a message to your Member of Congress, asking them to support the EDVI Act. 

PreventBlindness.org