Juvenile Cataract – Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Juvenile cataract is characterized by clouding of the eye’s lens, which impairs vision and can lead to total blindness if the condition progresses. The lens normally focuses light onto the retina, enabling clear vision. Cataract can develop due to aging, injury, underlying diseases or genetic defects and can occur in one eye or in both eyes. Cataracts are common in most dogs from around the age of seven onwards, to varying degrees, due to the natural aging process of the lens. This specific variant affects juvenile Wirehaired Pointing Griffons and is caused by an autosomal recessive mutation in the FYVE And Coiled-Coil Domain Autophagy Adaptor 1 (FYCO1) gene.