Retinitis Pigmentosa Treatments

At this time, there is no proven effective treatment for RP.  However, there are many alternative treatments in the market.   Here are just a small samples, you will find a lot more info on the web. I think most eye doctors are very conservative, and some have the a"not invented here" mentality.  When you ask your doctor for RP treatment option, they would probably just say there is no treatment or would suggest you try vitamin A or cataract surgery.  I guess the doctors don't want to give you false hope.  So, it  is totally up to you if you want to try any of the following alternatives.
 
Here is an article of various alternative treatments for RP.
Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine

Please keep this following in mind:

•   Alternative medicine is not aproven medicine.  Have a healthy dose of skepticism with any testimonials on any alternative medicine.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• What seems to work on a mice model might not work on human.
• Try one thing at a time, so you know which one is the magic bullet for your RP condition.
• Be aware of placebo effect and confirmation bias.
• Know when to stop trying and move on.  There is no shame to accept the fact that what you tried is not working.
• Be sure to consult a qualified medical professional if not sure about the treatment.
• Good luck.  Please share your experience.

 

Vitamin A

According to one well-design study, people who take 15,000IU of Vitamin A Palmitate seem to have a slower rate of retina damage.  This is not a cure, but seem to help some people preserve their vision for few more years if they do this early on.  

In a follow up study, taking fish oil seem to boost the effectiveness of vitamin  A.  Some people shouldn't take high dose of vitamin A, besure to check with your doctor first.
Updated Vitamin A Study
 

Cataract surgery 

Although cataract surgery is not a treatment for RP, but removing the cataracts, even a small one, would improve acurity and reduce glares for most people with RP.   Depends on the type of lens you choose, you would become near sighted or far sighted after the surgery.  Multifocus lens is generally not recommended for people with RP.

 

Often time, the vision would reverse back to your pre-surgery level after months or even years of improved vision.   One of the cause is due to the thickening of the lens capsule which hold the lens in place.  If this is the cause, your doctor would use a laser to "drill" a hole on the lens capsule to let the light through thus resstore your vision again.  

    

 Like any surgerical procedure, cataract surgery does not guarantee visual improvement for everyone who has it done.   According the to report below, many people would be benefited by this surgery.

  Report on cataract surgery outcome for people with RP

 

 
      

Acupunture

If you search on the web, you would find many many doctors offer acupunture treatment for RP.  Supposely acupunture would increase "Chi" to the retina thus restore its visual function.   Some people who have tried it claimed they could feel some warmth in the eyes during the treatment.   Some have claimed they noticed vision improvement in three treatments.  
 
There was a small study awhile back that seem to suggest that acupunture would help some people  with RP.  John Hopkins University is also doing a short clinical trial with acupuncture to treat RP.  Depends on the outcome of this short clinical trial, a longer study might follow.  
Acupunture Treatment For RP
JHU acupunture clinical trial info
FFB's comment on acupunture
An FFB member's experience with acupuncture treatment
 

TUDCA (Synthetic Bear Bile)

Bear bile has been part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat various diseases for thousand of years. Recent researches have suggested that a component in the bear bile called TUDCA may have the potential to treat RP.

FFB article on TUDCA research

NIH article on TUDCA

      

Microcurrent Stimulation

Same idea as accupunture but using microcurrent electrodes instead of needles.  There is no scientific evidence this would work.
 

Cuba  RP Surgery

   There is no effective surgery at this time to slow down or reverse RP. But there is a rumor of such surgery procedure available in Cuba. This probably a scam. 
Cuban Treatment for RP

 

Stem Cell Treatment

From what I read so far, stem cell treatment seem promising.  A lot of info on this subject on the web.  Here is one informative video.
  Stem Cell Treatment for RP
 Mice treated with strem cell 
 

Nanoparticles Treatment

Research by Mayo Clinic doctors offer potential treatment for RP using nanoparticles.  More info at the link

 Nanoparticle Treatment for RP

   

Bionic Eye

Advanced in microelectronics has enabled engineer to design an implantable bionic eye.  The recently FDA approved bionic eye designed by Second Sight would restore enough vision to people with advanced RP to walk independently.   However, bionic eye is still too expensive and have too much limitation for general used. 

Bionic eye