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The Plan: We will test the safety and effectiveness of an optogenetic therapy in dogs blind from Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS). This gene therapy will insert a light-sensing gene in the retina of SARDS-affected dogs to restore their vision. If successful, this optogenetic therapy can be used in dogs and people with blinding retinal diseases to return their vision years after they went blind.

Colleagues and friends,

from The Pharmacologists
September 2023
by ASPET

**This article appears in the Spring 2023 issue of CCAH Update.**

• Australian Reptile Park conducts yearly health check on echidnas, ensuring good health and necessary medical attention.
• The check-up included an overall health check, eye examination by professionals from the Animal Eye Clinic, and weighing and checking of their feet and spines.
• The echidnas receive top-notch care at the Australian Reptile Park, including regular check-ups to ensure their ongoing health and wellbeing.

See Video Here:

Autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA) is a rare genetic disease that causes progressive and irreversible vision loss in both eyes starting in the first decade of life. There is currently no treatment for ADOA, which affects approximately 3 people per 100,000 worldwide.

UC Davis researchers will use a new 3.5 million grant from the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to develop a nonhuman primate model of ADOA to speed the development and testing of treatments for humans.

UC Davis is home to the world’s brightest students studying to become the next generation of veterinarians. As the leading veterinary school in the country, we are committed to providing them with the highest caliber of training and access to the latest technology.

I was devastated,” said Blondell-Timmerman. “He was going to be the stud with which I started my kennel.”

With those plans dashed, Blondell-Timmerman enlisted the help of Dr. Sara Thomasy, a UC Davis veterinary ophthalmologist, who was conducting a clinical trial for a new CED treatment drug. Gabriel showed improvement during the trial, and Blondell-Timmerman’s breeding community connections enabled her to track down 32 owners of dogs related to Gabriel to also participate in the study.

Dr. Arianne Pontes Oriá stands firm: She does not make animals cry for a living.

Technically, only humans can cry, or weep in response to an emotional state, said Dr. Oriá, a veterinarian at the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil. For humans, crying is a way to physically manifest feelings, which are difficult to study and confirm in other creatures.

“Case of the Month” – April 2020

Cooper, a 16-year-old quarter horse gelding, was brought to the UC Davis veterinary hospital after his owner, Robyn Armstrong, noticed spooking behavior over the past few months. Her normally friendly horse was not letting her near him. The hospital’s ophthalmologists noticed an obstruction in Cooper’s vision, but also noticed an unrelated abnormality on his face. The two separate conditions initially concerned Armstrong and set Cooper back a few months, but ultimately, he emerged a much healthier, happier horse.

“Case of the Month” – June 2019

It’s fitting that Dr. Sara Thomasy is an ophthalmologist. Her eyes light up when she talks about the breakthroughs being made at UC Davis thanks to recent acquisitions of state-of-the-art imaging equipment. Eight new pieces of imaging equipment and one new piece of laboratory technology, made possible by grants from the Center for Companion Animal Health (CCAH), now allow the Ophthalmology Service to provide new levels of care.

The discovery of a naturally-occurring mutation that caused impaired vision in four rhesus macaques at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis, holds promise for restoring vision in the animals, and eventually, in humans.

If there is one thing that all of us who are in and around these buildings have in common, it’s that our animal companions are critically important to us, whether they are huge (like the Great Dane puppy I saw in the main receiving area five hours ago) or tiny (like the ancient, doddering Pomeranian wearing a cone who just hobbled out of another exam room in the ophthalmology department).