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Thyroid Research
This paper ties in the locus on the diabetes alleles in the Samoyed with the locus of the AH alleles:
B. Catchpole, L. J. Kennedy, L. J. Davison, W. E. R. Ollier (2008) Canine diabetes mellitus: from phenotype to genotype. Journal of Small Animal Practice 49 (1) , 4–10
“There is evidence that the DLA-DQA1*001 allele is also associated with hypothyroidism, suggesting that this could represent a common susceptibility allele for canine immune-mediated endocrinopathies”.
University of Minnesota (University)
AKCCHF grant #372 - Determination of Breed-Specific Reference Ranges for Assessing Thyroid Function in Several Breeds
Disease(s): Endocrine Disorders
Sponsor(s): Alaskan Malamute Research Foundation, Inc., English Setter Association of America, Golden Retriever Foundation, Keeshond Club of America, Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Samoyed Club of America Education & Research Foundation, Siberian Husky Club of America Trust
Researcher(s): Rebecca L. Davies, PhD
Breed(s): Alaskan Malamute, English Setter, Golden Retriever, Keeshond, Samoyed, Siberian Husky
Abstract:
The thyroid gland secretes hormones which are very important for development, growth, reproduction and metabolism. Sometimes the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone and hypothyroidism occurs. Hypothyroidism is very common in dogs and many are treated with thyroid hormone supplementation. This disease occurs frequently in Alaskan Malamutes, English Setters, Golden Retrievers, Keeshonden, Samoyeds, and Siberian Huskies. Hypothyroidism is generally diagnosed by measuring the concentration of thyroid hormones in serum. This concentration is then compared to a reference interval derived from measurements of thyroid hormone concentration in samples taken from large groups of normal dogs. Generally this works very well, however, in some breeds, the true reference range is lower than the range determined when dogs of various breeds (or mixed-breeds) are analyzed. Breed-specific thyroid hormone reference intervals have only been determined in a few breeds. Without breed-specific intervals, inappropriate use of general values may result in healthy dogs being misclassified as hypothyroid. These animals may be incorrectly placed on thyroid supplementation, and unnecessarily removed from breeding programs. Furthermore, the incidence of hypothyroidism in the breed will be overestimated. We wish to establish breed-specific normal thyroid reference intervals to improve the diagnosis of true hypothyroidism in the Alaskan Malamute, English Setter, Golden Retriever, Keeshond, Samoyed, and Siberian Husky breeds.
