Does your research apply to all cases of PRA? No; our successful therapy only applies to one type of PRA that our team were the first to identify in Papillons.

Why doesn’t your therapy work for other types of PRA? It is important to realize that PRA is a group of many different conditions that have the same end result. Mutations are known in many different genes to cause PRA. The type of therapy we use supplies a new copy of the defective gene, and therefore, only works for dogs that have PRA caused by a mutation in that specific gene. This means that the therapy we have developed will not work for any other type of PRA.

Can your gene therapy help my Papillon who has this type of PRA? For Papillons that have PRA due to this specific gene mutation, the treatment has to be given early in the disease process while there are still sufficient cells surviving in the retina that can be saved and respond to the new copy of the gene.

What should I do for my dog who has PRA? If your dog has PRA, your local veterinary ophthalmologist will be able to provide advice on how rapidly the condition is progressing and whether your dog is developing any other eye problems.

Are you working on different therapies for different types of PRA? Our hope is that in the future, there will be treatments for more types of PRA or even a treatment that works across many different types of PRA. However, it will be some time before this is possible.