Day Blindness
Achromatopsia is a progressive, non painful disorder of the retina that affects color vision and light perception. Cone cells not only register color, they allow the dog to adjust their eyes to bright light. Dogs with this disease constantly feel like us when we step out of a movie theater. Night vision remains completely unaffected.
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Signs and symptoms
You may catch your pup blinking repeatedly in daylight, shaking their heads, or seeking out areas with dimmer light.
Symptoms appear as early as 8 weeks of age. -
Diagnosis
Veterinary ophthalmologists can diagnose this condition using patient history, ocular exam, and genetic testing.
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Treatment
Currently, there is no available treatment for Achromatopsia, although gene therapy has been successfully used in young dogs.
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What to do if your dog is at risk
Actions
- In humans, deeply tinted glasses are used to help manage the symptoms.
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Genetic Information
This mutation was first described in the German Shepherd Dog and Labrador Retriever.
This mutation is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner; that is, a dog requires two copies of the mutation to show signs of the disease.
Gene names:
CNGA3 (Exon 7 Deletion) ‐ chr
Inheritance type:
recessive
Citations:
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Breeds affected
This health condition affects the following breeds
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