Current Health
Research Projects
Updated April 23, 2007
If
you suspect that your dog has malignant histiocytosis (MH), you can find information on the
disease at:
www.bmdca.org/health/Histio.htm
www.histiocytosis.ucdavis.edu/
A general note about consent forms. These are needed in order for
the researchers to use your donated materials, so please print them out in full
and follow the instructions. If you’d like them to be able to share the
materials with other researchers, please be sure to check the box that enables
them to do so. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Note: Please get new copies of any needed forms,
old copies could have incorrect addresses.
Malignant Histiocytosis/Soft Tissue
Sarcomas: A
study of the “Genetics of Canine Cancer” is underway by Dr.
Participation in this study will
require you to notify Dr. Breen that your dog has a soft tissue sarcoma or histiocytic cancer and you would like to enroll him/her
into the study. Please notify by e-mail where possible to the following
address:
In this e-mail please send your
name, the name, sex and age of your dog, the site of tumor, the diagnosis and
the name, address and phone number of your vet. Also indicate the date that
your dog will be having a biopsy. Dr. Breen can take necropsy samples provided
that those samples are taken on the day that your dog passes away.
The following materials then need to
be submitted to NCSU:
1)
10-20ml EDTA (lilac top) blood - your vet has these tubes
2)
a tumor biopsy in formalin (your vet has these
collection tubes)
3)
a sterile piece of the tumor collected in sterile
tumor tissue transport medium
(Dr. Breen will send this to you or your
vet if time permits) or into an empty,
STERILE container (eg
a red top tube which your vet will have) - TUMOR
SAMPLES CANNOT BE TAKEN FROM DOGS RECEIVING
CHEMOTHERAPY
4) Any
pathology reports relating to the tumor
Dr. Breen would also like.
- The AKC five generation pedigree
-
A photograph (hard copy or by e-mail) of your dog.
-
If your dog has already been diagniosed via an
earlier biopsy, please arrange
for your
vet/Pathology lab to send Dr. Breen the paraffin block containing the
biopsy specimen.
For consent forms and detailed
information on how to send blood and tissue samples go to:
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/mbs/breen_m_recruit01.htm
For more information, contact CVM_K9Genomics@ncsu.edu or Pat Long
(BMDCA Health Committee member) at pat@bmdinfo.com.
Malignant Histiocytosis: Elaine Ostrander and Heidi Parker at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are studying the heritable factors involved in susceptibility to malignant histiocytosis (MH), and are using blood drawn from Bernese Mountain Dogs that have been or will be positively diagnosed with MH. They still need more samples for their work. They need samples from dogs that have had (or will have post-mortem) a positive diagnosis. They are also very much in need of “control” samples from healthy Berners over the age of 10 that have not been diagnosed with MH. It is crucial to know if these control Berners ever develop MH, as well as any other type of cancer or tumor, so please inform the Dog Genome Project at NHGRI if this occurs at any time after the submission of the control sample. The scientists also need a copy of the pedigree for all dogs in the study at least through the grandparents.
If you
suspect that your dog has MH, call for a free kit (which consists of two blood
collection tubes with yellow tops marked 10cc of ACD Solution A), and
submission instructions (your vet may also be able to supply or acquire the
tubes) by contacting:
Dana Mosher (samples manager) at mosherd@mail.nih.gov,
or phone (301) 451-9390
Dr.Heidi Parker at hgparker@nhgri.nih.gov,
or phone (301) 402-8625 or (301) 496-7299
Dana Mosher can also help answer any questions you may have about the submission process.
Mast Cell Tumors or Osteosarcoma: If you suspect that your dog has a
mast cell tumor or osteosarcoma, please contact the
Broad Institute (dog-info@broad.mit.edu) and ask how to proceed to submit a
blood sample to participate in the study to map risk factors for mast cell
tumors or osteosarcoma respectively. General
information as well as the consent form can be found at:
http://www.broad.mit.edu/mammals/dog/
Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA): Dr. Aquirre at Optigen has been
instrumental in developing genetic tests for PRA in a number of breeds. He and
his group now feel that they have a good lead as to the type of PRA in Bernese
as well as for the other three related Swiss breeds, the Appenzellers,
the Entelbuchers (a test has now been developed for Entelbuchers), and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs.
To
pursue the research, Optigen needs the following
info:
·
They need to be in contact with any owners of dogs that have
been determined to be PRA carriers or any affected dogs.
·
They need to review the eye exam reports of those dogs.
·
They need to have copies of the pedigrees of these dogs.
·
They need blood samples of these dogs.
The
info they collect is private and only used in their research to pursue the
genetic makeup of this problem in our dogs.
If
you can help in any way, please contact Jeanette Felix. Her e-mail address is
Liver Shunt: Liver shunts, (portosystemic shunts) are
defects in the portal vein which connects the liver to the rest of the
circulatory system. This defect affects
many breeds, including Bernese Mountain Dogs.
The liver removes toxins such as ammonia from the blood; shunts prevent
blood from reaching the liver.
Consequently, the liver does not develop properly as the puppy grows. In
addition, toxins such as ammonia bypass the liver and reach the body’s blood
circulation, including the brain. Neurological symptoms begin in the first year
of life and without treatment the condition is fatal. Surgery is the only long
term treatment, but is not always successful. Work by researchers at
Dr. Jan Rothuizen at the Utrecht University, Netherlands, is
working with the Dutch BMDC to find a genetic marker for portosystemic
shunts in BMDs so that breeders can determine whether dogs carry this defective
gene. His laboratory would like to have
blood from affected dogs, their parents and as many littermates as possible.
To
participate please send the following to Dr. Rothuizen:
- 4 to 8 mL
of blood in EDTA coated tubes (purple top) from the affected dog and as
many relatives as possible sent via express mail.
- Veterinarian’s report on the
diagnosis of the shunt (blood test for ammonia, radiograph, surgery, etc)
- Pedigree of the affected dog
Blood
samples and pedigrees from BMDs from the UNITED
STATES or
Dr. Washabau at the address below. Please call to notify him that a sample is coming.
Robert J. Washabau,
VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, Professor of Medicine and
Department Chair
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
(612) 625-5273 Office/VoiceMail
(E-Mail:washabau@umn.edu
Blood
samples and pedigrees from BMDs from the
at the address below. Please call to notify him that a sample is coming.
Jan Rothuizen,
Professor of Internal Medicine of Companion Animals
University
3508 TD
The
E-Mail:
If you have
any questions, please contact
Hip Dysplasia: The
Epilepsy: The Canine
Epilepsy Research Consortium (www.canine-epilepsy.net) headed by the University
of Missouri-Columbia and the
Collection of Information for Further Study: It
has been observed by several fanciers that a number of Bernese seem to have
suffered symptoms similar to Multiple
Sclerosis in humans. These symptoms come to these dogs in middle age, are
slowly progressive and debilitating. In most cases we know of, the dogs have
been euthanized due to their debilitated state in middle age. We are trying to
gather more information that is being forwarded to a neurologist that is
interested in learning more about this problem.
These symptoms do not occur overnight. They are symptoms
that get progressively worse, and cannot be improved with medication. For
example, treatment with antibiotics for urinary problems will not help if your
dog has this syndrome. Please contact Sandy Novocin at (310) 831-5969, or email
her at
-
wobbliness or unsteadiness of the rear
-
difficulty rising with no apparent pain
-
dragging of the rear quarters
In addition, some dogs experience:
-
bowel incontinence
-
urinary incontinence