Coats’ disease was first identified by Scottish ophthalmologist George Coats in 1908. It is a very rare condition where there is abnormal development in the blood vessels behind the retina. The blood rich retinal capillaries break open, leaking the serum portion of the blood into the back of eye. The leakage causes the retina to swell, and can cause partial or complete detachment of the retina. Coats’ disease is seen predominantly in males, about 69 percent of the cases. It progresses gradually and affects central vision. It is almost always unilateral (affects only one eye). If caught early, some level of vision can typically be restored. If not caught until its late stages, complete loss of vision can occur. In its final stages, enucleation (removal of the affected eye) is a potential outcome.
There is also a definition of Coats Disease on Wikipedia.
More Information about Coats’ can be found at these Websites:
http://www.coatsdisease.org/index.html
http://www.rnib.org.uk/eyehealth/eyeconditions/conditionsac/Pages/coats_disease.aspx
http://children.webmd.com/coats-disease
http://www.palmettoretina.com/learn/conditions/coats_disease.html