A genetic test has been developed by Cambridge scientists to help eliminate a cause of incurable blindness in English shepherd dogs. Dogs with progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) have normal sight when they are born, but go totally blind by the age of four or five – and there is no treatment. PRA is a group of inherited diseases that causes progressive degeneration of the light sensitive cells at the back of the eye. Now a University of Cambridge-led team has identified the genetic mutation that causes PRS in English shepherd dogs and a test for it. Identifying dogs carrying the disease before t…
