Genetic Links to Hereditary Blindness Shared by People and Monkeys

 

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/identifying-genetic-causes-blindness-people-and-macaques 

https://www.nei.nih.gov/research-and-training/research-news/discovery-monkeys-could-lead-treatment-blindness-causing-syndrome 

Researchers at UC Davis have located a genetic mutation in rhesus macaques, a species of monkey primarily found in Asia, that is identical to a form of blindness found in humans.  The condition found in humans is called Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy pr ADOA for short.  Researchers discovered that the OPA1 gene in some macaques had mutated.  This mutation causes these monkeys to suffer from progressive vision loss and eye abnormalities that mirror ADOA symptoms.  Due to primates close relation to humans, these macaques can be used as a biological model to test treatments and therapies.  Finding a cure for these monkeys could lead humanity to a permanent cure for blindness through gene therapies and other medical treatments.