Retinitis pigmentosa (PR) is one of eye disease which is characterized by the progressive loss of photoreceptor cells. Most people who have PR do not become completely blind until middle age and could keep some sight all their life. However, PR could be the cause of profound blindness for others who suffer from it as early as childhood (Wikipedia). In recent times, researchers in University of Missouri have discovered that there is a genetic link between humans’ PR and cats’ PR (Science Daily, 2009).
According to Science Daily (2009), the cause of retinal blindness in humans and cats is the same genetic mutations. Researchers investigated the genetic mutation in two groups of cats. One group of cats was affected with a congenital form of RP and the other group of cats was with a late-onset form of RP. They could identify the genes responsible for both forms of the disease in cats and researchers have noticed that there was a mutation in the CEP290 gene with late-onset form of disease cats. This mutation is same mutation as humans with Joubert syndrome and Leber’s congenital amaurosis. These diseases are caused by the result of genetic mutation in the function and structure of the photoreceptors and the change of the photoreceptors could lead to cell death and blindness.
Reference
‘Cats’ Eye Disease Genetically Linked To Diseases In Humans’, 2009, website, Science Daily, viewed 22 March 2009. Available at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304114254.htm
‘Retinitis pigmentosa’, website, Wikipedia, viewed 22 March 2009. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinitis_pigmentosa
By s4195782
