Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome in Dogs - Treatement Modalities - ACVO Conference 2022

This video aims to describe medical treatment strategies for Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS) in dogs. SARDS is one of the most common blinding diseases in dogs, frequently resulting in the sudden onset of blindness and the development of systemic symptoms such as excessive thirst, appetite, and weight gain. For years SARDS has been considered a disease of unknown cause and with no treatment; however, recent research publications provided strong evidence of the autoimmune nature of disease, with the substantial component of retinal autoantibody production resulting in the damage of retinal cells and development of blindness. This disease is almost identical in behavior to non-paraneoplastic retinopathy (npAIR) in humans, and successful treatment strategies in dogs may help treat human patients in the future.