June 17, 2022, 06:12 AM EDT —
FAIRPORT, N.Y. (WROC) — Officials with the Choroideremia Research Foundation announced their annual international conference at the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa will continue into Friday.
The purpose of the conference is to raise funds for research and to support families and patients affected by Choroideremia — also known as “CHM.”
Officials said that CHM is a rare, inherited form of blindness that affects one in 50,000 individuals globally. Roughly 6,600 people in the United States suffer from CHM.
Officials said that symptoms begin in early childhood with night blindness that then progresses to peripheral blindness and tunnel vision — these symptoms get worse as an individual gets older.
“We have a very wide collection of researchers here giving us updates on the research we’ve actually funded, as well as many presenters on various types of topics to help people who are dealing with oncoming blindness such as adaptive technologies, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and several other sessions like that as well,” said Engagement Director for the Choroideremia Research Foundation Cory Macdonald. “It’s not just research, it’s also a community, and very much like a family reunion when we all get together.”
Officials added that there are currently no approved treatments for CHM.
