Retinitis Pigmentosa – The eye Condition that can lead to total blindness—where’s the cure?

Disclaimer: Those with suspected medical conditions should consult a qualified physician.

More than 350,000 people suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), many of whom live in Devon and the Southwest. Millions of pounds have been spent in the UK, over the past 50 years, searching for a cure; without success, and without any progress whatsoever.

Scientists and doctors believe that RP is caused by genetic factors, because susceptibility to the Condition is handed-down from parents to siblings; with a chance of 1 in 4.

We need to be cautious here, because every disease and malady could be described as having a ‘genetic’ cause; heart disease, for example, may ‘run in the family’ but it does not preclude open-heart surgery or the fitting of stents.

The theory that susceptible genes may be the cause of RP is speculative, at best. Surely, it is time to consider other possibilities using different hypotheses and research.

Examining the facts: We know the disease begins, in those susceptible to it, at the age of around 11 years 3 months in males. The regular replication of rods and cones in the retinas of the eyes then begins to fail. Loss of vision continues, slowly, over the next 30 to 40 years until the patient becomes totally blind. Females do not suffer from it until the age of around 47 years 3 months, following which their eyesight declines in a similar way.

What we see is that, in males, the disease kicks-in at puberty, when the male hormone testosterone kicks-in. But the disease does not kick-in in females until the age of around 48, at the time of menopause, when oestrogen and progesterone decline.  So females appear to be protected from the disease from the age of 12 to 48. Given that the only difference between the men and women is the hormones then, surely, the cause of Retinitis Pigmentosis must be hormonal: Men are driven by testosterone and women by Oestrogen and Progesterone.

The British Engineer and Scientist, Maurice Cotterell, has shown how radiation from our 28-day spinning Sun [see FutureScience—forbidden science of the 21^st-century, www.MauriceCotterell.com] regulates biological rhythms and, in so doing, the fertility hormones; oestrogen, progesterone, the luteinising hormone, and the follicile stimulating hormone and, hence, fertility in females.

Cotterell has shown how the Sun’s radiation changes polarity every 7 days, as it spins on its axis, and how the Sun showers charged particles towards Earth. Those particles are captured by the Van Allen radiation belts that encircle the Earth, and convert the variations in particles to variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Moreover: In FutureScience Cotterell points-out:

In 1987, Dr Ross Aidey, the White House Chief of Staff for the Reagan administration, published a Paper (Cell Membranes, Electromagnetic Fields and Intercellular Communication) saying:

‘…about 20% of pineal cells in pigeons, guinea-pigs, and rats, respond to changes in both direction and intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field… causing variation in the peptide hormone melatonin, which powerfully influences circadian rhythms..’. (Walker, et al 1983).

The timing hormone melatonin is produced by the brain at around 04:30am, following a period of darkness. Melatonin is crucial in the timing of cell replication, and replication of rods and cones in the retina. Solar radiation from the Sun changes every 7 days, so the magnetic fields produced by the Van Allen belts change every 7 days. Those magnetic fields must affect the production of melatonin and the production of rods and cones; without which, information striking the eye cannot be received by the brain.

In his book The Melatonin Miracle (Simon & Schuster 1995), the Italian Doctor and Researcher Dr Walter Pierpaoli MD, reached similar conclusions to Cotterell—in regard to melatonin’s ability to fight disease and sex-hormone enhancement—and has since formulated a melatonin-based product intended to reduce the effects of retinal degradation in RP patients. However, Maurice Cotterell, in his Paper Leaky-gut—the cause of allergies, asthma and auto-immune disease [available to download, for free, from his website] has pointed-out that a side-effect of melatonin (and its precursor serotonin) is one of the causes of Leaky-gut, so this should be kept in mind when considering such treatment.

It seems clear that, in order to preclude the onset of RP at the age of 48, females need only take Hormone Replacement Therapy. The same treatment could be considered by males at the age of 12.

My own RP was identified at the age 13 years, with a gradual deterioration with noticeable milestones roughly every 12 years. This period coincides with one Sunspot cycle—one complete cycle of the Sun, during which the Sun changes its magnetic field. In the case of family members, as expected, 1 in 4 of the males developed RP at the age of 12 and 1 in 4 of the females at the age of 48; the probability being determined genetically.

It could be that testosterone in males might exacerbate the condition in males. This too, needs to be tested.

Clearly, more testing is required, but some information could be gained by statistical analysis; how many women aged 48+ developed RP? How many women aged 48+ taking HRT developed RP? And so on.

Clinical testing should also be used. But the UK NHS is averse to clinical testing of any kind—unless recommended by a conventional medical doctor. It is difficult to see why this is the case. I tried to get several UK doctors to check my levels of melatonin and they all refused, preferring instead to watch me go blind. This should be seen as a breach of human rights. Clinical tests should be available for any disease, on request, if a patient is willing to pay for them. This includes X-rays, MRI scans, CT-scans, blood-tests for hormones, haematology and all other indicators. This would also reduce the cost to the NHS. It is not surprising that the NHS is going bust.

I understand that medical doctors are prohibited from carrying-out ‘research’ on their patients—which prevents them considering new and revolutionary treatments that might work. I also understand that they can be ‘struck-off’ the Medical Register and prevented from practising if they do. Again, this needs to be looked-at. But if doctors cannot, or will, not try to cure a patient who is going blind then the patient should not be prevented from carrying-out their own research, reaching their own conclusions and requesting medications from their GP they suspect may help, providing they accept full responsibility for the outcomes.

In conclusion: Evidence exists to suggest that Retinitis Pigmentosis may respond to hormone treatment providing the condition is detected early-on; at the age of 12 in males, and 48 in females. Females with RP can experiment with this, themselves, by taking HRT as soon as the condition has been confirmed because females of that age can request the medication from their GP—no questions asked. Just don’t mention RP.

For males: Research should be undertaken to ascertain whether increased testosterone levels cause RP. If it does not then research with HRT on 12-year-old males should be considered.

Ray Steed