Biochemistry of Retinal Degeneration

Hereditary primary pigmentary degeneration of the retina occurs in a number of experimental animals, the condition closely resembling retinitis pigmentosa in man (Cogan, 1950). In therat, themodeofinheritanceisasanautosomalrecessivecharacteristic (Bourne et al., 1938), whereas in man the situation is more complicated in that at least seven different forms of inheritance have been recognized. In the affected rat and dog, retinal degeneration starts about 12 days after birth although true differentiation of the rod is not completed until about 4 weeks of age (Lucas, 1954).