Some interesting articles from the WCVM in Canada -they have an online newsletter. Page 8 and 9 in the latest newsletter (Summer 2011) is very pertinent(discusses Border Collie Collapse with a sidebar explaining the collapse in Labradors), and there is an article halfway down the web site about the research and discoveries done starting 16 years ago by Sue Taylor and associates.
"highly associated" Now isn't that what so many of us have been saying all along?
Interesting to see what different folks get from articles.......what struck me was that Border Collies will start to pace themselves when they are exercising hard, and slow themselves down. Labs - not so much. We have a harder going breed! That was an interesting revelation to me.
Another thing I noted was that Dynamin-1 is "up-regulated in times of heat, stress and excitement." Not just one-faceted; makes it clearer to me why different dogs have different triggers for a collapsing episode. Different scenarios are exciting or stressful or heat-inducing to different dogs. Dogs who are hunted without collapse will go down after chasing a tennis ball - maybe that ball is more exciting to them because it means fun times with their kid, rather than a "work day" hunting with their master???
There was another EIC article published this month in The Veterinary Journal:
Presence and impact of the exercise-induced collapse associated DNM1 mutation in Labrador retrievers and other breeds
The impact of the mutation causing dynamin 1 (DNM1)-associated exercise-induced collapse (d-EIC) was determined in a retrospective genetic survey. The frequency of DNM1 mutant allele carriers in Labrador retrievers from conformation show, field trial/hunt test, pet or service lines ranged from 17.9% to 38.0% and the frequency of homozygous mutant (EE genotype) individuals ranged from 1.8% to 13.6%; 83.6% of these EE Labradors were reported to have collapsed by 4 years of age.
DNM1 mutation carriers and EE dogs with a collapse phenotype were also detected in Chesapeake Bay retrievers, Curly-coated retrievers, Boykin spaniels, Pembroke Welsh corgis and mixed breed dogs thought to be Labrador retriever crosses. The DNM1 mutation was not identified in Golden, Flat-coated, or Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers, or 15 other non-retrieving breeds. Veterinarians and breeders should be aware that the DNM1 EE genotype is not completely penetrant and that d-EIC is a widespread health concern in several very popular breeds, as well as breeds whose genetic similarity to retrievers is not obvious.
