PRA DNA Test Available for Italian Greyhounds

As a result of years of genomic research conducted by Drs. Goldstein, Acland, Aguirre, and their team at Cornell University’s Baker Institute College of Veterinary Medicine, OptiGen is pleased to offer a diagnostic DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in the Italian Greyhound. OptiGen’s IG-PRA1 test is highly predictive of development of PRA in the breed and its use will help Italian Greyhound breeders avoid producing pups that will grow up to develop this form of PRA.

PRA in the Italian Greyhound   

IG-PRA1 is considered a “late-onset” PRA, meaning that the first symptoms of retinal degeneration are not observed until the dog has reached maturity. Typically, IG-PRA1 affected dogs are first diagnosed by a veterinary ophthalmologist during a routine eye exam when dogs are between 3-5 years of age. The symptoms of IG-PRA1 are very similar to other (unrelated) forms of late onset PRA such as prcd and crd3. Loss of retinal cells leads to increased reflectivity from the mirrored tapetal cells in the back of the eye and retinal vessels are pruned as the number of retinal cells needing to be nourished diminishes. The disease itself is painless but affected dogs should be regularly monitored by an ophthalmologist to treat possible secondary effects of PRA (the most widespread form of PRA across dog breeds) IG-PRA1 first presents as a loss of vision in dim light conditions due to degeneration of rod cells in the retina. This stage is followed by decreased vision in bright light conditions due to the death of cone cells in the retina. Complete blindness is the end result.

Inheritance of IG-PRA1 and Other form(s) of PRA in the breed

IG-PRA1 has been presumed to be inherited as an Autosomal Recessive (AR) trait, meaning that two copies of the mutation must be present in order for disease to occur. Data gathered during the Cornell study indicate that the IG-PRA1 risk allele identified by Goldstein et al., is completely concordant with the disease when two copies of the allele are present. All Italian Greyhounds that were homozygous for the IG-PRA1 risk allele were diagnosed with PRA and two copies of the risk allele were never observed in any Italian Greyhounds with normal eye exams (at the risk age or older).

For more information on PRA in Italian Greyhounds, continue reading here.

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=55453

Posted by chesliepickett on Aug 18 2014. Filed under Health & Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.