Progressive Retinal Atrophy
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Among the many eye conditions that can affect dogs is one that isn't painful, but is nonetheless heartbreaking. Progressive Retinal Atrophy, or PRA, is a genetically inherited condition in which the eyes are basically "programmed" to go blind.
PRA can appear in any breed of dog, and is equally prevalent in purebred and mixed-breed animals. It's usually transmitted through a recessive gene, meaning two carriers of the gene must mate in order to produce an affected pup. The exceptions to this rule occur in Bull Mastiffs and Old English Mastiffs, where the PRA gene is dominant, so only one parent need have the gene in order to produce pups with PRA. Also, the gene is linked to gender in the Samoyed and Siberian Husky breeds. In these breeds, the disorder appears more often in males than females. [...]
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Progressive Retinal Atrophy, also known as retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy (RPED), is part of a group of genetic degenerative eye diseases that affect the retina. Although it is more common in dogs it is also found in cats especially Persians, Abyssinian, some shorthairs and Siamese cats.
[h]Causes[/h]
The disease causes vision impairment, which eventually leads to blindness. Progressive Retinal Atrophy appears in both male and female cats and is either a dominant or recessive trait (autosomal trait). This disease is similar in nature to Retina Pigmentosa in humans.
In Abyssinian cats there are two forms of the disease, if it present at birth or shortly thereafter it is a genetic autosomal dominant gene. If it occurs in middle age it is genetic autosomal recessive gene. [...]
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As with any type of pet, there are costs associated with owning a dog. Not surprisingly, the cost of owing a larger dog is higher than the cost of owning a small breed, simply because the larger the dog, the more food they will typically consume. Regardless of size, the basic costs will be the same with regards to spaying and neutering, providing play things, bedding, housing as well as training and routine health issues. In addition, many owners now choose pet insurance, which is an excellent way to reduce vet bills by purchasing a small monthly or yearly insurance policy for your dog. [...]
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Progressive Retinal Atrophy or PRA is the leading cause of blindness in adult dogs of almost every breed and size. It is a genetic condition from which there is no cure either through surgical procedures or drug therapies. As with any type of genetic disease the only true way to suppress the condition is to immediately spay or neuter any dog, mixed or purebred, that exhibits any sign of PRA. It is linked to a recessive gene that means that both the male and female must have the condition for the puppies to display PRA, but they can pass the genetic component on to their offspring, which then may breed with another recessive dog, resulting in a litter with PRA. There are some deviations to this rule as in Bullmastiffs and Old English Mastiffs the condition is a dominant gene and in breeds such as Samoyeds and Siberian Huskies the gene is sex-linked and is only found in males. [...]
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Progressive Retinal Atrophy
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