Blindness cured with a shot is now a reality for pet owners whose dogs have suddenly gone blind due to a disease called SARDS.

Within the last 60 days, two blind dogs can now see! SARDS stands for an eye disease called sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome.

The SARDS research team led by Iowa State University veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr. Sinisa Grozdanic, DVM., in the College of Veterinary Medicine is responsible.

This is the first time  that blindness in dogs caused by SARDS has been reversed successfully and all with just a few injections performed for a nominal fee. The treatment restored sight to two dogs that were treated this April, 2010.

The therapy consists of injecting a substance called immunoglobulin (IVIg), which is a blood product from people that contains antibodies.  This immunoglobulin has also been used to treat various immune disorders, inflammatory diseases and autoimmune problems in people.

SARDS was first detected about 20 years ago and blinds nearly 4,000 dogs each year in the US. The dogs have a sudden loss of vision with no apparent cause or warning signs. The affected dogs eyes look normal, but their retinas have no electrical activity, which is how the diagnosis is made.

Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine being blind and receiving a single injection that restores your vision!

This sounds too good to be true but is a new reality that holds tremendous hope fpr people and pets in the future.

Normally, most drugs are unable to reach the retina because of a natural impermeable lining, called the blood-retina barrier, that prevents most chemicals from reaching the sensitive cells of the retina and as such is a built in protective measure for the eye.

A research team from Dublin, Ireland, has successfully restored the vision of mice by temporarily weakening this retinal lining to let drug molecules injected into the blood slip through the barrier and reach the retina.

A technique called RNA interference (RNAi) was used to block the production of claudin-5, a protein that normally helps make the blood-retina barrier impermeable. This method involves gene therapy using a modified virus that makes the RNA only in the presence of an tetracycline derived antibiotic called doxycycline.
Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Dr. Carol,

I just wanted to let you know that my 10 year old maltese, Flower is enjoying her Paaws vitamins each day. She loves them and we can already see improvement in her attitude, energy and arthritis. The greatest relief for which we are so pleased is that she finally stopped itching and mutilating herself!

The Dermalustre works very well too. I spray it directly on the “hot spots” on her paws, and it really
stops her from chewing on them.

Your Clear Eyes product also seems to be doing a nice job of soothing her irritated eyes.

So, everything is going great!

Thanks again,

Ashlee W.
Chicago, Illinois

Recently I have received a lot of questions from pet owners about a condition in dogs called Cherry Eye.

Here’s a note I wanted to share:

Having read your advice re: Cherry Eye, my English Mastiff, 8 months old, has had this for 2 weeks. Quite prominent now! Our vet has prescribed NeoPolyDex Eye Drops, hoping to void surgery. But what is this about MASSAGE? Can you please EXPLAIN? Surgery is so very expensive and the poor guy!

You can massage the eye back into place and your vet can show how to do this very easily. Cherry Eye is by definition a prolapse of the Gland of the Nictitans. In other words the gland near the inner corner of the eye (nearest to the nose) which is also called the 3rd eyelid and is responsible for producing the tears that bathe the eye and keep it moist has prolapsed.

It looks like a “cherry” as it is pink and fleshy and “pops” in and out of place. Despite its appearance, it is not painful to dogs. The key is to be patient and do your homework…

First the eye must be kept moist and in my experience as a veterinarian, I have found that as opposed the tiny tubes of pricey eye ointments I used to prescribe, Norwegian Virgin Cod Liver Oil is wonderful and very cost effective! Two drops applied into the eye(s) twice daily works like a charm. Next ask your vet to show you how to gently massage the gland back into place.
Read the rest of this entry »

Cherry eye is by definition a prolapse of the gland of the 3rd eyelid, which is also referred to as the Nictitans or Lacrimal (tear) gland. Some refer to this gland as the “Haws.”

When the gland of the third eyelid pops out of position, it protrudes from the inner corner of the eye and looks like a pinkish-red colored mass. This prolapsed tear gland, also called the Lacrimal or Nictitans Gland is commonly called “cherry eye”. This condition can affect one or both eyes and is usually seen in young dogs, including Cocker Spaniels, Lhasa Apso’s, Shih-Tzu’s, Poodles, Beagles, and Bulldogs. Occasionally certain cat breeds including Burmese, may be affected.

Despite its appearance, cherry eye itself is not painful. However, the longer the tear gland is exposed, the more likely it is that it can become irritated and inflamed. If your dog rubs at his or her eye(s), the gland can bleed or become infected. Furthermore, the function of the tear gland, which is to produce tears, can become compromised if it is exposed for long periods of time.

The gland of the third eyelid plays an important role in maintaining normal tear production, and makes nearly half of the eyes tears. Dogs that have had the tear gland removed are predisposed to developing Dry Eye, referred to by vets as Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca later in life. Dry Eye is uncomfortable for pets, and requires the owner to give pricey topical eye medications several times a day for the remainder of the dogs life. Dry eye often leads to corneal ulcers, which are very painful for pets and costly for owners to treat.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Carol,
Spanky had her surgery @ K-State Ophalmology Thursday & is doing great. I wanted to send some pics for 2 days after surgery. Dr. Allbaugh did the surgery & did mostly laser with some done with a scalpel. None was malignant. WE are thankful for that. The eye growths were caused from her severe dry eye syndrome. She believes the glands got plugged & caused this.

So we continue with the tacrolimus and for a time she is on TriOptic-PM and then we will use just a good eye gel to lubricate her eyes. We will do the drops 3 times a day and wait awhile & do the gel lubricant. Her eyes are looking great for everything she has been through. Gradually the left eye lid will go back where it should be.

We also have switched her to Hills I/D food. She ate that well down there so we figured she probably has grown tired of the Iams. So she is eating better & has her eyes dealt with at least for the time. No one knows if they will come back or not we’ll just need to monitor them. Next time we will be able to make a quicker decision.

The down side is her blood work had an elevated enzyme reading for her liver. They did do an abdominal ultra sound & found a mass on a single lobe on the liver. They did a needle aspiration and first pathology reads no malignancy but we will talk further when we go back down in 2 weeks for a check.

They were terrific and very caring and considerate @ the campus. We were very impressed.
Thank you for all your interest & input. Dr. Carol, you were the extra boost that we needed to do what we did. Thank you so very much! Linda L.