How is this disease inherited? Does it have to be a gene inherited from both parents in order to produce it? Like PRA? I don't want to introduce it, so how do I know what lines to stay away from? I have Golden friends that know what lines in Europe and here to avoid. How come it's not so easy to find this info about labs?

Lots of luck. People do not want to talk about this.

The most recent take on this is that epilepsy is a simple recessive and there are multiple mutations. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. If that theory is correct, the answer is yes. But who knows?

So it's all just a crap shoot as the saying goes. It must be well infiltrated in the breed, maybe impossible to avoid.

Before even trying to understand the inheritance of epilepsy, it is fundamental to accept that ALL dogs, given the right/wrong circumstances, can have a seizure. Any animal can seize once the excitement threshold of nerve cells in the brain is overstepped. Does this mean that all dogs are potentially epileptic? Of course not. No more than a broken leg caused by a car accident means that your dog has bone disease! Epilepsy is not a disease - seizures are symptoms of an underlying problem and hereditary epilepsy is only one possibility among others.

There is a difference (often hazy) between primary or idiopathic epilepsy and fits caused by various physical problems, also known as secondary epilepsy. Acquired causes of epilepsy are legion and should be fully evaluated before making any breeding decisions. Just to mention a few possible causes: birth trauma, distemper, thyroid dysfunction, liver disease, renal dysfunction, congenital or subsequent liver shunts, encephalitis, anaesthetic incidents, electrolyte abnormalities including dehydration, hypoglycaemia, hypocalcemia associated with parturition, intestinal parasitism especially in young pups, food allergies, brain tumours, inflammation of the inner ear, secondary reactions to certain vaccines, and reactions to certain toxins including (but not limited to) lead, mercury, carbon compounds, ethoxyquin (according to J. Carson PhD. Nutritional biochemistry and physiology), some industrial chemicals, etc.,etc... Need any more be said?

One study (A. Jaggy, D. Faissler, C. Gaillard, P. Shrenk and H. Graber) carried out in Switzerland, looked at 792 Labradors from 44 families and 11 generations of healthy and epileptic animals. Their findings led them to suggest that there IS a genetic basis for the condition in this breed. A polygenic recessive mode of inheritance was assumed. Because of the number of affected offspring produced by healthy parents, a dominant mode was ruled out. However, Todd D.L. Woods, M.D. (Neurology) questions the assumption that, within any breed, epilepsy is inherited in one mode. I quote: "One member of a breed may have an acquired epilepsy, while another may have an inherited epilepsy related to glucose metabolism that is inherited by simple autosomal recessives, and another may have an inherited epilepsy related to abnormal central nervous system development inherited as a dominant trait with incomplete penetrance such that its sire has the same condition, but doesn't have outward signs of epilepsy".

So, are we dealing with a healthy dog whose brain cell excitement threshold has been passed? Or is it a gene mutation which has predisposed this dog to brain cell excitability, in which case it is hereditary? If physical causes cannot be ruled out, when in doubt, it is obviously safer to abstain from breeding.

"If physical causes cannot be ruled out, when in doubt, it is obviously safer to abstain from breeding." from JP's post.

JP, lets say that you have figured out that one of your girls has siezures when fed a certain type of food, would you still breed her?

I'm not JP but I wouldn't breed any dog that had seizures. How would you know for certain what caused it?

I have owned a dog with epilepsy. It eventually killed him (by drugs needed to control the seizures) at 5 years of age. I would dread knowing that another dog could come into this world and break a heart, if it could be avoided..

I lost a dog to epilepsy also. Most breeders won't discuss this subject on a public board. I hope this continues discussion, it can only be of help to everyone.

There are blood studies going on in the States, if your dog is affected it would be helpful to participate with one vial of blood.

J.P. Are there certain physical, or temperament characteristics in a dog that seizures? Like head type and size, higher strung attitude? Is it likely a breeder will produce epilepsy if in this hobby for the long haul?

Do you have any info on this study?

HealthGene in Canada has been working on an epilepsy research project for a few years now. I know several breeders who have submitted blood samples to this project. The link to their site is http://healthgene.com/canine/research_projects.asp

Here is some info:

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT EPILEPSY RESEARCH PROJECT
HealthGene Laboratory is working towards the development of new DNA tests for inherited diseases in many breeds of dogs. Our laboratory now is studying the various mutations in a number of candidate genes that produce different forms of epilepsy in different breeds. We request that owners of dogs with confirmed cases of epilepsy submit blood samples to further that research. Please note that in all cases strict confidentiality is maintained between HealthGene and providers of DNA samples.

Who qualifies?
For the Epilepsy Research HealthGene requires samples from dogs that have been medically diagnosed with epilepsy or have symptoms of epilepsy for at least two years.

Does epilepsy continue through each generation, or does it hide and come back?

The University of Missouri has an ongoing all breed Epilepsy study. The main thing that researchers need is DNA, pedigree and health history from affected dogs and also from as many of that dog's family members as possible. The more complete the family the better. I would encourage anyone with an affected dog to submit blood to this study. More info can be found regarding epilepsy and the epi study at www.canine-epilepsy.net.
Julia