§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa are enabled to receive treatment abroad on the National Health Service.
§ Mr. MoyleI refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee, East (Mr. Wilson) on 26th October 1976.—[Vol. 918, c.143–5.]
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what research is currently being undertaken in the United Kingdom to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa.
§ Mr. MoyleThe Medical Research Council is the main Government-funded 427W body conducting or supporting research into this disease. The council's clinical and population cytogenetics unit in Edinburgh and its human biochemical genetics unit in London have begun a study of some aspects of the genetics of this disease. Other work in such fields as neurochemistry, visual physiology and cell biology which may be relevant in the long term is also being undertaken.
The council has set up a working group on treatment for the disease and expects to consider proposals for further research.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are currently suffering from retinitis pigmentosa; and if he will break the figure down into age categories.
§ Mr. MoyleAlthough there are no official figures for retinitis pigmentosa sufferers, informed estimates suggest that there are between 10,000 and 25,000 in the United Kingdom. Since the onset of retinitis pigmentosa normally occurs early in life but the disease does not usually shorten life expectancy, sufferers are fairly evenly distributed between age groups.