Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of diseases which cause a slow but progressive vision loss. In each of them there is a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones, resulting in night blindness and gradual loss of peripheral vision which could even lead to complete blindness over time.
Most forms of RP are inherited or genetic, and it is thought that in approximately every 3,000 births in Australia, one child is born with RP. Currently there are only a few treatments that exist, primarily because rather than a single gene defect, RP results from a large and as yet unknown number of gene defects.
But now, a university of Missouri researcher has found a genetic link between humans and cats in the genetic mutations that cause Retinitis Pigmentosa. This discovery is extremely useful since cats could prove to be efficient animal models in studying the genetic mutations and furthermore, in finding a treatment for the retinal blindness.
Created by : Sithija Wijesinghe (41877250)
Article- Cats' eye diseases genetically linked to diseases in humans
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uom-ced030409.phpOther references
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=ushersyndrome
http://www.retinaaustralia.com.au/
Images-
http://www.retinaaustralia.com.au/images/hpic_cat_normal.jpg
http://www.retinaaustralia.com.au/images/hpic_catRP2.jpg
