Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS)

Posted on April 3rd, 2013

This post was originally published in Nutricula Magazine on February 8th, 2013

The entire world is beginning to find a definite increase in SARDS, a hormone antibody imbalance which leads to blindness, and even worse, may progress into allergies, autoimmunity and cancer.

Often this developmental blindness will not be realized by the pet’s owner before total retinal damaged has occurred.

This is a very difficult disease to diagnose in general practice because a special electrogram needs to be done on the patient’s retina for a positive diagnosis, and this diagnosis usually needs to be performed by a veterinary ophthalmologist.

The cause of SARDS seems to still be somewhat of a mystery to the veterinary profession. My own clinical studies of SARDS classifies it as an autoimmune disease caused by a deregulation of the immune system and the immune cells losing recognition of self-tissue, including that of the retina.

Once SARDS has been diagnosed, it is vitally important to have your veterinarian do a special endocrine immune blood test to help correct this imbalance and stop this abnormal immune response before the patient’s retinal tissue is permanently damaged.

Once tested, these SARDS patients all have deficient, bound or elevated, defective cortisol which is produced from the middle layer of the adrenal cortex.

NOTE: Cortisol is a daily, natural hormone in people and animals that if not produced in proper amounts or is defective, will lead to allergies and autoimmunity, including SARDS and cancer. This deficient or damaged cortisol is not recognized by the patient’s pituitary gland and cannot fulfill it negative feedback mechanism for the body.

The excess production of the pituitary hormone ACTH, causes the inner layer of the adrenal cortex to produce elevated amounts of adrenal estrogen and acts as a direct feedback for the body.

Once this has occurred, the elevated total estrogen deregulates the immune system so that the B and T lymphocytes no longer provide their protection for the patient’s body. These lymphocytes are now deregulated to the point where they lose recognition of self-tissue. This causes them to produce anti-antibodies create a cell mediated damage to various tissues in the body and with SARDS, that tissue is retinal (tissue).

The elevated estrogen binds to the receptor sites of the thyroid hormone, and at the same time, causes the B cell production of protective antibody to deplete.

When this occurs, the mucous membrane in the eye (and the rest of the body), referred to as immunoglobulin A (IgA), is deficient and can allow for further loss of protection in the eye and in the rest of the body.

When the IgA level drops below a certain point, even if proper hormone supplementation is done orally, the patients usually will not be able to absorb the hormone supplement through the intestinal wall. This is why, when a patient is in the hospital on IV medication and is sent home on the same medication, it does not work as well if at all.

Often new oral medication may be prescribed, but if the patients IgA level is not increased, that medication will also not be absorbed.

I do have further information on SARDS on my website at www.drplechner.com including the test and correct laboratory to send the blood sample.

I am also available for consultation if needed. These are only my thoughts, and I hope they help.

NOTE - It is vital with any suspected autoimmune disease, not to use any medications or supplements that contain Sulfa, Melatonin, Rozerem or Echinacea. It has been recognized, that compounds containing Sulfa may alter the surface the red blood cell and cause an autoimmune hemolytic anemia and the other three supplements may cause an increased stimulation of an already deregulated immune system and worsen the patients disease.