What would be the reason to test for diseases like Muscular Dystrophy and do these exist in the Labrador? The dog was tested for more than I listed but I stuck with the diseases I had never heard of in our breed.
TIA for shedding some light and letting me know if any of us should be testing for these diseases also.
What would be the reason to test for diseases like Muscular Dystrophy and do these exist in the Labrador? The dog was tested for more than I listed but I stuck with the diseases I had never heard of in our breed.
TIA for shedding some light and letting me know if any of us should be testing for these diseases also.
To me it sounds like a dog that was tested by INGEN, when they tested for everything under the sun, whether it affected our breed or not.
Hereditary Myopathy of Labrador Retrievers (HMLR) is the muscular dystrophy you mentioned. It has been renamed CentroNuclear Myopathy (CNM). A lot of breeders check for CNM. It has been a serious problem in field lines.
Degenerative Myopathy (DM) is a problem that strikes older dogs leading to a shorter lifespan. If you search back through this forum, you will find several threads about dogs with DM. You didn't mention it in your list, but it is a genetic disorder that can be avoided by testing parents.
Cystinuria is a genetic kidney disorder that once again shortens life for affected dogs. Over the years I have heard of a lot of dogs that died due to kidney failure, but the specific reason is not diagnosed. Some symptoms are recurring urinary infections and stones.
Dogs with hemophilia A, hemophilia B, von Willebrand disease (VWD), and factor VII deficiency are present in several breeds. Humans have these same bleeding disorders. There are tests for some that are verified for different breeds, but not for others. Ingen tested for several of these, but not all of them were certified for Labradors.
There is a gene test for Cone Degeneration in GSP and Alaskan Malamutes. There is not one for Labs. However, the type of PRA that we test for in Labs is correctly called Progressive Rod & Cone Disease, so someone may have missed getting the whole name of the disease listed.
I think that the owner must have used Ingen, so you have to take into consideration that not all the tests apply to Labs, so listing them is sort of meaningless.
Yes, many diseases occur in Labrador Retrievers. Some are more common than others.
Just for your information here is a link to a peer reviewed article on ARMD aka Muscular Dystrophy in Labradors http://www.scribd.com/doc/23747888/CANINE-Autosomal-Recessive-Muscular-Dystrophy-in-Labrador-Retrievers
VonWilbrand's Disease information can be found here http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/anderson/index.php
Cone Degeneration information can be found here http://www.optigen.com/opt9_test_cd.html Note the differences between CD and PRCD and PRA when you explore that website.
As you discovered at this time, there is a DNA test available for cystinuria only in Newfoundlands and Labrador Retrievers. That test can be done at UPenn, and per UPenn while there are a number of breeds in which cystinuria is known to occur they only have a DNA test for two breeds. At this the DNA tests are for Newfoundlands (common disease) and Labradors (rare in this breed).
I hope this helps you.
