Can blind dogs be cured? Iowa University offers SARDS therapy
Narrated from: Dog HealthDon’t get your hopes too high just yet, but very soon a cure might be found for the dog-blinding disease SARDS.
A team at Iowa State University has battled the infamous SARDS disease for the last few years, and a major breakthrough has been made.
SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome) is one of the worst illnesses that can befall a dog: it results in sudden, total blindness. It is unknown what causes SARDS, and there is no effective treatment.
The first case of SARDS was identified in 1980, making it a relatively new problem. SARDS is spreading fast though, and nowadays nearly 4 000 dogs fall victim to it in the USA alone.
However, a research team led by Iowa State University veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic managed to produce a working cure.
The team tried to tackle SARDS way back in 2007, when it was announced that in the course of several weeks, two dogs had successfully been treated and cured. However, no following reports were published, which suggests that the disease was not permanently cured after all.
Reports that a cure was developed resurfaced in 2010. It was claimed that two blind dogs were cured with a simple course of injections containing a substance called immunoglobulin (IVIg). The university has started test treatment, but the program is still not widely recognized by the veterinary profession.
The therapy is only applicable if the dog has been blind for no more than two months. After that it is too late to restore the damaged retinas.
If your dog has developed SARDS (and it is confirmed by a vet), you can risk it and enter your dog in the program. The cost would total about $2000; it is still unknown how long the treatment would last, but there is a chance that the dog’s sight will be saved.
Let us hope that in the next few years tests of the therapy prove successful, and SARDS will no longer plague the bright eyes of our beloved canine friends!
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