2009-2015 First observations on DM in the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog

Dear Members,

finally, after many discussions, we finally have a first point on the question Degenerative Myelopathy in Czechoslovakian Wolfodog in Italy. After the final confirmation of the presence of this disease in the breed with the histopathological examination of Elvys, with this complete and thorough job of Doctor Ylenia Gridelli under the supervision of Prof. Gualtiero Gandini, an insight into the issue from the end of 2009, when it first came out, to present date is made available and accessible to all.

This is not a light reading, they are about 90 pages of often not simple topics, but to everyone who wish to leave behind personal views and opinions is now available a work obtained with a strictly scientific method. From Chapter 4, page 41, you’ll find the specific part on the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. The more interesting part is the statistic which examines a sample representing 7% of the Italian population born in the last 10 years. This portion, in statistical terms, can be defined as remarkable as it allows you to certify the results at a confidence level of more than 90% and estimate a 3% sampling error. In simple terms, this means that the information obtained from a similar sample provides a very faithful image of the objective reality of the population.

THE MYELOPATHY DEGENERATIVE: FIRST OBSERVATIONS IN ITALY IN DOG WOLF CZECHOSLOVAK

Abstract:

"The canine Degenerative Myelopathy is a progressive, degenerative disease of the central nervous system which is evident in old age and affects many breeds and mongrels, with a clinical course that leads to the inability to walk and then to the euthanasia of the affected animal.
Described for the first time in 1973 as an exclusive disease of the German Shepherd, a greater understanding of the pathogenetic mechanism is due to the comparison with a form of human Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) with which it shares the same etiology as both of them are related to the mutation of a protein called SOD-1; in 2009 it was discovered a correlation between affected animals and this mutation, indicating a strong genetic predisposition, the transmission of which is defined as Recessive Incomplete or Partial penetrance because not all predisposed animals (homozygous mutant) develop the disease.
The most recent theories suggest the involvement of one or more modifying genes. To highlight this mutation is available a genetic test carried out by PCR method, thus allowing to know the animal's genotype. The case in which the mutation is present in homozygosity represents the most important risk factor for the development of this serious disease. The definitive diagnosis is possible only by post-mortem histological examination of the spinal cord, while intra-vitam it is possible to undergo a diagnostic protocol aimed to exclude any other disease that can simulate the symptoms of degenerative myelopathy, allowing us to make a presumptive diagnosis. In association with the positivity of the genetic test, it allows to diagnose the disease with a low percentage of error. From 2009, in conjunction with the release of this genetic test, we began to suspect the presence of Degenerative Myelopathy in Czechoslovakian Wolfdog breed, as direct descendant of the German Shepherd, i.e. the breed where this disease has been studied for more than 40 years.
The strong suspect was made more significant by several differential diagnoses in Italy and abroad, which led to a significant spread of genetic testing as genetic prophylaxis for breeding. In 2015 the first definitive confirmation by histopathological examination of a subject 9 year old male appears in Italy. An estimated 7% of the sample of the Italian population was analyzed according to the genotypes results from the genetic testing of each subject, by detecting an allele frequency for the mutated gene of 0.21% and a frequency of the genotypes with high-risk of developing the disease of 5% of the sample. This portion of at-risk animals was further divided between asymptomatic animals (2.08%), animals with compatible symptoms (0.69%), animals that died with presumptive diagnosis (1.38%), animals with differential diagnosis (0.34%), animals with histopathological confirmation (0.17%), and animals that died for other causes (0.17%). It is to be noted that all asymptomatic dogs are younger than the average threshold of onset of the symptoms so it was not possible to detect any genetically predisposed elderly subjects without symptoms consistent with DM or that died for other causes in old age."

Full text: THE MYELOPATHY DEGENERATIVE: FIRST OBSERVATIONS IN ITALY on CZECHOSLOVAKIAN WOLFODOG

Alessio Camatta

Articolo inserito il 05/04/2016