Hello:
             My name is Linda Stowe and I'm the founder of Dodgerslist, www.dodgerslist.com a group organized to help fight IVDD (back problems) in Dachshunds, a breed where the average of 19%+ have this terrible disease.   I am also a member of the Dachshund Club of America Health and Welfare Committee. Since your breed is also known to have a higher incidence of this, I am contacting you to ask for your help in getting this information to breeders.

            A few years ago we contacted a researcher, Dr. Mark Neff, at Davis and asked them to do gene research for IVDD.   They agreed and at this time, they have over 1000 Dachshund cheek swabs plus several hundred of other breeds who are also affected by this disease.

            At the present time, they would like other breeds who have a high incidence of IVDD in their breed also. You can learn more about their research at http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/research/canine/projects/ivdd/ .   I would like to ask your help in helping Dr. Neff find an answer for our Dachshunds and other breeds as well.

            If you would like to help with our research, please email me at lstowe@insightbb.com or call me at 217/359-7148.    For participants in your breed, I will send 4 cheek swabs with instructions and a short questionnaire along with a postage paid envelope to be sent directly back to Davis.   This is very easy to do. Also, any verification of surgery or diagnosis would be helpful.

We are now also starting to do a blood draw on IVDD dogs. For more information on this http://www.dodgerslist.com/lit/ivddhandout.htm

Thank you and hope you will help all our dogs in fighting this terrible disease. Any questions, please let me know.

Linda

Help Fight Dachshund Disc Disease
www.dodgerslist.com
Participate in the Univ of CA Davis IVDD gene study
http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/research/canine/projects/ivdd/

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July 8, 1998, Sweden: The Swedish KC has approved new rules governing the breeding and registration of Lhasa Apsos. 1. No pups may be registered unless both parents are ID marked and eye tested within one year before the mating. (dogs ERG tested after 18 months of age do not reqire further testing.) 2. No pups may be registered from: a. parents with PRA, b. their offspring, or c. known carriers.

USA, From Nancy Plunkett: "I know that PRA is a big concern for breeders in Europe and should rightfully be included amongst Lhasa Apso health issues. However, I believe the high incidence of KCS ("dry eye") in our American Lhasas also warrants some mention on your health page. Be it primary or secondary KCS, it seems as though a large percentage of Lhasa Apsos develop this potentially blinding disease as they get older...and it would no doubt be helpful for many to have some information posted that would help them recognize and treat it before it becomes irreversible. Attached is an introduction to KCS that I put together as a program for NCALAC, which you may find helpful as a place to start from. Much of my info was gleaned from paperwork supplied to me by our canine ophthalmologist in DC., Dr. Nancy Bromberg. " See Nancy's article on this site.

USA: In a press release, researchers from Cornell University's James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, reported that the genetic defect responsible for progressive rod-cone degeneration (called prcd), the form of PRA known to cause blindness in poodles, Labradors, and several other breeds, appears to be the canine version of the human gene defect producing RP17, one of the numerous forms of retinitis pigmentosa. The prcd gene has not yet been isolated, nor has RP17 in man, but the knowledge that they appear to be the same defect should greatly speed this goal.

Denmark: According to the Danish Kennel Club official statistics, as of Jan.2000, 45 Lhasas have been examined. Results: of 42 dogs examined, 39 were free of eye disease. Two had PRA, two (aged 3 and 6) had corneal dystrophy, 1 had cararacts (age 6) and one had retinal dysplasia . These cases are from the same lines as the other cases in England and Scandinavia.

According to the lists of tested dogs published by ILAC, 245 dogs have been tested in Norway, with 19 positive cases, 1534 in UK with 18 positives, 401 in Sweden, with 4 positives, 45 in Denmark, with 3 positives, 51 in Netherlands with 1 positive, 79 in USA with 1 positive, and 99 in Australia, with 2 positives. The carrier rates calculated from these incidence figures in the three countries are: UK = 19%, Norway = 40%, and Sweden = 18%. These figures are indicative of a significant problem. Denmark, Netherlands, Australia and USA all have a relatively small number of tested dogs- too small a sample to calculate a realiable carrier rate. However, several of these countries have many dogs inbred on the same lines found in the countries with high carrier rates, so we expect that with further testing the carrier rates will turn out be similar. (Anyone wanting the formula for this calculation can download it from the software page. A small program to calculate it automatically is also available.)

There is little or no information available on PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) specifically in Lhasas. We have only 48 recent, documented cases of PRA in Lhasa Apsos - all but one in, or bred in, Europe and Australia. There are unverifiable statistics on PRA in US "Lhasas" coming from Perdue University's Veterinary Database, which indicate that 31 cases of PRA were found over the past 33 years out of a total of almost 11,000 Lhasas examined. 31 cases in 33 years out of a tested group of 10,697 in the USA. This is approximately 1 case per 10,000, per year. Contrast this with combined overall figures for UK and Scandinavia of 44 of 2215 in only 6 years, or approximately 30 cases per 10,000 per year. (combined carrier rate = 24%) This represents a 30 times greater incidence of PRA.

The first recent testing of documented Lhasas, which turned up any cases, began in 1996 in Sweden. We are not sure what type of PRA we are dealing with in Lhasas, but recent DNA testing by VetGen Inc. has ruled out the Irish setter type. As testing continues, and animals previously tested "clear" are found to develop PRA, we will finally have some data on age of onset, and presentation of the disease. Right now we have anecdotal accounts from four prominent U. S. Ophthalmologists, but have no hard data on the type or onset characteristics of Lhasa Apso PRA.

Anyone wishing an authoritative overview of PRA from people with bona fide credentials, (one of the leading Veterinary Ophthalmologists in the USA) check out: http://www.sheepdog.com/diseases/pra/pramenu.html.

Inherited Kidney Disease continues to be a problem in this breed and others. All the known bloodlines are affected. Breeders, even if you have never had puppies die of this problem, chances are that a percentage of your dogs are minimally affected, or carriers. Sooner or later, you will know the heartbreak of an HRD (AKA, JRD) litter. Fortunately there have been several recent breakthroughs, by Dr. Mary Whitely, PhD. she discovered two markers for the disease, and a third sequence that she believes is the actual mutation that causes the disease. She has developed a DNA test for the disease, and we are awaiting the first results of that new test as of Jan. 2007. Here is Dr. Whitely's report:

To all Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu Breeders:

Research involving pedigree studies and analysis of the gene for JRD in three other breeds has uncovered another mutation in the same gene that was studied in the Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso breeds. Within the other three breeds alleles A and B were present, but there were some dogs with JRD that did not have either mutation but still had JRD. This meant that there appeared to be another mutation either in the current gene, or another gene that participates in the renal dysplasia disease process.

DNA sequencing from these new breeds revealed another mutation in the same gene as the one that has alleles A & B for Shih Tzu and Lhasas. Upon further investigation, we have also located this mutation in the Shih Tzu and Lhasas. This new mutation is much stronger and has serious consequences to the gene’s ability to function correctly. Because this mutation appears on the same chromosome (and the same gene) as the mutations that we have been testing for, but was not picked up earlier in the research, we are re-testing all of the dogs that were submitted in the research study and those dogs that have been tested for A & B earlier this year.

The high frequency of A and B in Shih Tzu and Lhasas appeared to be the defect we had been looking for with JRD. However, by researching the other breeds that have entered into the study that also have JRD, it was discovered that these dogs had a lower frequency of A & B and in fact only one of those breeds had mutation B.

It appears that this new mutation is inherited with the A and B alleles most of the time, and therefore the overall frequency of the disease causing mutation and the genotype (diagnosis) should not change significantly. However because of the work in all the breeds we believe that the new mutation is the actual defect.

We have developed a screening test for this mutation, and are in the process of validating this assay.

What does this mean to you:

1. All of the animals tested so far will be screened for this mutation at no cost, and the results will be reported to the owners.

2. In the future only a single genetic test will be required for the inherited defect for JRD. From this test, breeding strategies can be determined to eliminate the chromosome with the mutant allele.

3. Those people who have paid for A & B will get a credit of one test to use in the future.

Please allow us a few weeks to re-test and report results to the breeders. Those people waiting for results should get theirs within four weeks of the test being validated. We appreciate your patience and understanding. We will continue to strive to do the best research we can for the breeders.

Ed. note:
For those of you who may be confused at this point, allow me to interpret. It seems from the further research, that the initial mutations found (A & B) were not the real culprits, but were simply "markers" for the actual mutation which causes the disease. Mary is going to re-test all of the previously tested samples for the newly discovered sequence. Hereafter, animals will not need to be tested for A and B, but only for the "C" gene ("c" for culprit?). Now we know what has caused the delay in getting back results. Thank you Mary, for your diligence and persistence in tracking down this killer!