Hereditary progressive retinal atrophy in the Abyssinian cat.
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a hereditary eye disease leading to blindness, was found in the Abyssinian breed of cat. Sixty-eight cases of a bilateral generalized retinopathy, at different stages of the disease process, were seen in the breed during ophthalmoscopic examinations of cats throughout Sweden during a 2-year period. Forty-five percent of cats aged 2 years or older were affected in the examined group. The earliest case was diagnosed in a 16-month-old cat. At the age of 3-4 years a bilateral retinal atrophy was usually present in affected cats. Genetic analysis indicates that PRA in the Abyssinian cat is caused by an autosomal recessive gene.
D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D002415:Cats; D005808:Genes, Recessive; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*