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The Stafford is no different from many other breeds of dog, or mongrels, in that it suffer's from inherited condition's, two of which are Hereditary Cataract-HC for short, and Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous or PHPV for short.
Not all cataract's are inherited, however some are, and a type of cataract is inherited by some stafford's.
This hereditary cataract is bi-lateral, that is it affect's both eye's, and is progressive which means it gets steadly worse the affected dog eventually becoming blind. Early onset of the condition can be recognised by trained ophthalmologist's or " eye specialist's ". Sight can be partilly restored but the operation is expensive.
PHPV, the second eye condition that affect's the Stafford is not quite so straight forward. PHPV is congenital, that is it's present at birth.
Certain blood vessel's that do a normal job during development of the eye should have disappeared within a few week's of birth, but sometimes they don't and can cause complications.
Dog's can be mildly or badly affected with PHPV, and mildly affected dog's can produce badly affected offspring which can itself result in a form of cataract development.
This condition does not progress or get worse as the puppy grow's and can be detected as young as 6 to 8 weeks old.
Proposed Genetic Study At Animal Health Trust To Find Gene Responsible For PHPV
Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous, or PHPV, is a congenital condition caused by the retention of elements of the foetal vascular supply to the lens. The condition results in variable amounts of fibrovascular plaque on the posterior lens capsule and possible posterior cortical cataract. PHPV is inherited in Staffordshire bull terriers although the precise mode of inheritance is unknown.
The Genetics team at the Animal Health Trust has successfully identified the mutations responsible for two other inherited conditions that affect Staffordshire bull terriers, Hereditary Cataract (HC) and L-2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria (L-2-HGA) and DNA tests are now available for both these conditions.
The same team of scientists is now hoping to study the genetics of PHPV in the hope of eventually being able to develop a DNA for this condition to add to those for HC and L-2-HGA. The AHT intends to apply for funding to study PHPV in collaboration with a team of human geneticists (geneticists who study humans as opposed to dogs), but competition for funding is likely to be stiff. The chances that the application will be funded and that the research can go ahead will be greatly improved if the AHT can demonstrate the successful collection of an adequate number of samples to undertake the research by the time the application is submitted (hopefully by the first few months of 2007)
.
We need:
• samples from dogs AFFECTED with PHPV
• samples from parents, siblings and grandparents of affected dogs
For each sample we need:
1. a completed submission form
2. a 5 generation pedigree
3. a copy of the dog’s BVA/KC/ISDS certificate of eye examination to confirm diagnosis. This applies to both affected and unaffected dogs.
The samples can be collected as 5ml blood samples, preserved in EDTA (if the dog is having blood drawn for another purpose) or as simple cheek swabs.
Swab kits and submission forms can be requested, free of charge, from:
Bryan McLaughlin
Animal Health Trust
Lanwades Park
Newmarket
Suffolk
CB8 7UU
bryan.mclaughlin@aht.org.uk
For further details about this proposed research please contact Dr Cathryn Mellersh:
cathryn.mellersh@aht.org.uk
If you have a dog that can contribute to this research please consider donating a sample. The AHT relies on samples from pet dogs and cannot undertake this research without them.
HC – HEREDITARY CATARACTS.
It is known that HC is inherited by and automal recessive path (i.e. both parents must be carriers of the defective gene to produce and affected offspring). HC is a progressive condition and this means that although a puppy is not born with cataracts they will start to develop at a juvenile age. (maybe from 8 months onwards), and will progress until the dog is totally blind. This condition is bilateral which means is affects both eyes equally. Thanks to the tireless research by the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket there is a now a DNA Test for Hereditary Cataracts.
