Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Myopia and eye measurements in three dog breeds with high
By Williams, Laura A et al.·Published in Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry·2011·Department of Surgical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ocular components in three breeds of dogs with high prevalence of myopia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Toy Poodles, English Springer Spaniels, and Collies were studied to understand why some dogs develop myopia (nearsightedness). The research found that Toy Poodles had the highest rate of myopia at nearly 64%, while the other breeds had lower rates. The myopia in these dogs was linked to changes in the lens of the eye rather than the length of the eyeball itself. This means that the dogs' lenses were steeper and more powerful, which contributed to their vision problems.
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Abstract
PURPOSE: Experimental models of human myopia have been developed using animals of various species. However, most of these are an induced rather than a spontaneous, naturally occurring myopia. This study was conducted to evaluate whether the spontaneous myopia found in three canine breeds was axial in nature and therefore similar to humans. METHODS: Refractive error was measured by cycloplegic retinoscopy and ocular components by A-scan ultrasound (ocular axial dimensions) and videophakometry (corneal and lens radii and powers) in 83 dogs of three breeds [English Springer Spaniels (n = 33), Toy Poodles (n = 36), and Collies (n = 14)]. Dogs with refractive errors equal to or more myopic than -0.5 diopters spherical equivalent were considered myopic. RESULTS: Myopia was most common in Toy Poodles (63.9%), followed by English Springer Spaniels (36.4%) and Collies (35.7%). Axial lengths and vitreous chamber depths were not different between myopic and non-myopic dogs (p = 0.84 and 0.63, respectively). The anterior crystalline lens radius was steeper and the lens power was greater in myopic compared with non-myopic dogs (p = 0.048 for each). CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous myopia was very common in all three breeds in this sample of dogs, with Toy Poodles being most affected. However, the cause of the myopia appeared to be refractive, that is from a steeper, more powerful crystalline lens, rather than from excess axial elongation. These breeds do not appear to be promising models for human axial myopia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21169876/