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AKCCHF grant #372
Determination of Breed-Specific Reference Ranges for Assessing Thyroid Function in Several Breeds
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
Researcher (s):
Rebecca L. Davies, PhD
Sheila Torres, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVD
University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
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Wanted: Purebred Collie, English Setter, Golden Retriever, Keeshond, Malamute, Samoyed, and Siberian Husky dogs to participate in a study to establish breed-specific reference ranges for thyroid hormone levels.
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| What We Need: To examine your dog and take blood and urine samples. If accepted, participants will will receive all general and thyroid laboratory data at no charge and there are no costs to participate. |
| Contact: For more information or to enroll your pet in this study or if your regional club in the mid-west would like to plan a collection event, please contact Dr. Rebecca Davies at 612-626-0168 or rdavies@umn.edu or http://www.cvm.umn.edu/cic/current/endocrine/home.html |
Abstract from the AKCCHF website:
"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."
