ray charles

[rubensan]

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someone asked me if ray charles went blind from glaucoma? Does anyone know if this is true? How common is glaucoma in children?

 

[Andrew_Doan]

congenital glaucoma can be high in certain populations:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7173860&dopt=Abstract

Hum Genet. 1982;61(3):193-7. Related Articles, Links


Population genetical aspects of primary congenital glaucoma. I. Incidence, prevalence, gene frequency, and age of onset.

Gencik A, Gencikova A, Ferak V.

This paper presents some characteristics of the population genetics of primary congenital glaucoma in Slovakia. The overall incidence in Slovakia is 1:10,500, while being 1:1,250 in the Gypsy subpopulation of Slovakia and 1:22,000 in the non-Gypsy population. For a special type of congenital primary glaucoma, transmitted by autosomal recessive inheritance in Gypsies the gene frequency may be estimated to reach 2.8%. Early onset of the disease enabling diagnosis soon after birth in 82% of patients may be considered another characteristic of this type of primary congenital glaucoma.

 

[Redhawk]

"Charles never knew exactly why he went blind, but he remembered starting to lose his sight at 5, a few months after his younger brother had drowned." ( http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/14/60minutes/main649346.shtml)

"Although it is presumed that untreated glaucoma was the cause, no official diagnosis was ever made." (http://www.swingmusic.net/Ray_Charles_Biography.html)