ADOA is an abbreviation for autosomal dominant optic atrophy, four difficult words. So let's stick with ADOA. But what exactly is ADOA? ADOA is a disease of the eye. When the eye is sick, it works less well. Someone with ADOA therefore sees less well than people without ADOA.
An eye consists of many different parts, just like a car. In a car, something can go wrong with all those parts. That's the same with the eye. Something goes wrong with ADOA optic nerve. The optic nerve is the connection between the eye and the brain. The eye 'looks' and transmits the images to the brain via this connection. The body consists of cells, so you actually consist of all cells, millions!
Almost all of these cells have special ones energy factories, with a difficult word mitochondria. The cells of the optic nerve also have these energy factories and need them a lot to do their job so well. In ADOA, there is something wrong with these energy factories in the cells of the optic nerve. As a result, the optic nerve does not work properly and that is why people with ADOA see less well.
To understand how you can get ADOA, you first need to understand how you actually came into existence. You may sometimes hear that you look a lot like your father or mother. That is not surprising, because half of you consists of your mother and the other half of your father. Then we talk about DNA.
There are also people who ADOA plus to have. In these people, the energy factories also work less well in other parts of the body.
People with ADOA plus may therefore experience more problems, including: poor hearing, poor balance, muscle weakness or muscle cramps. It differs per person which problems they have.
Sometimes people with ADOA-(plus) tired because they sometimes have to make more effort to see or do things.
DNA is a little hard to explain, but it's actually yours personal code. DNA determines what you will look like. For example, the color of your eyes is also determined by your DNA!
You get half of your DNA from your mother and the other half from your father. Sometimes there is one mistake in the DNA. Mistakes can cause illness. This is also the case with ADOA. For example, if your mother has the mistake for ADOA in her DNA, she may have this mistake passes on to you.
Of course she doesn't do this on purpose, but it just happens. That way you can also get ADOA.
Very occasionally the error occurs No reason, then it does not have to come from your parents. Then you are the first person in the family with ADOA.
With ADOA you can therefore become visually impaired and with ADOA-plus you can also get other problems (poor hearing, poor balance or muscle cramps). This is all not fun Naturally. It differs per person how bad the problems are. For example, one person sees a little bit worse, but can still do everything and another person may have something additional help necessary when driving a car, for example.
Unfortunately there is no pill or shot that can stop this disease, but there are tools who can help with daily activities. For example, there are special glasses for driving, there are special screens that enlarge the images and texts and there are many more aids.
It is unpredictable how much trouble someone gets from the disease. Well, it is so slowly increasing. This sounds a bit scary, but there are plenty of people with ADOA(-plus) who still do everything despite their disability!
There are no cures for ADOA, but there are many other things that can help!
A lot of money is needed to conduct research into the treatment of ADOA and ADOA-plus. Everyone can do something to raise money. You too, if you like!
Just some ideas:
Publicizing ADOA and ADOA-plus:
There I am in the schoolyard,
Someone waves to me
But who can that be?
You come closer!
From that distance I don't see who you are,
I might guess
You're definitely not a guy
I recognize that by your long hair,
I wave and you come running,
Ha! It's Karen!
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