Treatment of Congenital Stationary Night Blindness With an Alga Containing High Dose of Beta Carotene

Inclusion criteria

• Written informed consent to participate in the study.
• Men or women aged 18 years or older
• Diagnosed with Fundus albipunctatus

• Isolated rod response markedly reduced (less than 20% of normal)after 20 minutes dark adaptation and improved by 50% after 2 hours
• Negative maximal response (a wave to b wave ratio less than 2)
• Retinal midperipheral white dots (More than 3000 dots)

Exclusion criteria

• Current smokers.
• Current use of Vitamin A/ beta carotene supplements.
• Active arterial disease within 3 months of study entry such as unstable angina, myocardial infarction, transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke, and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
• History of malignancy, except basal or squamous cell skin carcinoma.
• Pregnant women, women who are breast feeding, and women of childbearing potential who are not using chemical or mechanical contraception.
• Uncontrolled hypertension defined as either resting diastolic blood pressure of >95mmHg (taken from the mean of 3 readings) or resting systolic blood Pressure of > 180 mmHg.
• History of alcohol abuse or drug abuse, or both.
• Active liver disease or hepatic dysfunction as defined by elevations of 2.0 times the ULN in any of the following liver function tests: ALT, AST or bilirubin.
• Serum CPK > 2.0 times ULN in visit 0
• TSH above the normal range.
• Newly diagnosed diabetes within 3 months.
• Patient plans to engage in vigorous exercise or an aggressive diet regimen.
• Uncontrolled endocrine or metabolic disease.
• Participation in another investigational drug study within 4 weeks of entry into this study.
• Serious or unstable medical or psychological condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would compromise the subject's safety or successful participation in the study.
• Serum creatinine > 2.0 mg/dl before the treatment phase, +3 proteinuria in urine dipstick, or a history of renal transplantation before the treatment period.
• Subject whose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or oral contraceptive therapy (OCT) was initiated within the 3 month prior to enrollment.
• Forbidden medications: the combination of PPAR alpha agonists-fibric acid derivatives, PPAR gamma agonists.