Over the past year or so, on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, I've shared dozens of short posts with the tag "Stars Eyes Sunday," describing a famous person with an eye disease. These were popular posts, and I plan to continue sharing similar stories on this blog. Here's the first!

Jeremy Poincenot ("Points-en-oh") was a 19-year-old college sophomore at San Diego State when he suddenly lost his central vision in his right eye, followed shortly thereafter by his left. He was diagnosed with a rare optic nerve disorder, called Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).

LHON is a genetic condition caused by mutations in the DNA within mitochondria. Patients with LHON typically develop sudden, painless, central vision loss in one eye, followed weeks later by the other eye. The likelihood of developing LHON in a person who carries the mutation depends in part on what fraction of their mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles within each cell, harbor the genetic change. LHON occurs most frequently in young males, but females and much older patients can be affected, as well.

Jeremy hasn't let his severe vision loss hamper his love of the links. In fact, just today, he won the United States Blind Golf Association's National Championship! Jeremy has been featured on ABC's 20/20, MTV, and GolfWorld, and his website can be found here.