This is probably by far the most serious health issue I have seen in the Shikoku so far: lysosomal storage disease. I've posted about it here on the blog before, but now that I've got the database going, I'm going to start trying to track dogs that have been affected. The first affected dog I've added to the database is Koyuki
https://nihonken.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/Koyuki-Go-%E5%B0%8F%E9%9B%AA%E5%8F%B7-%E5%B8%B8%E9%99%B8%E7%9F%B3%E5%B7%9D%E8%8D%98/pedigree/111/i
She, like most Shikoku that are affected, started showing symptoms at around 6 months of age. It generally starts with head tremors, and then progresses to hindquarter weakness. Symptoms increase as time goes by, and most dogs die at between 3-5 years old. I've included a video that shows her in the mid to later stages of progression.
When Koyuki was finally euthanized, her body was donated to Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University for research, and lysosomal storage disease was confirmed.
https://nihonken.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/Koyuki-Go-%E5%B0%8F%E9%9B%AA%E5%8F%B7-%E5%B8%B8%E9%99%B8%E7%9F%B3%E5%B7%9D%E8%8D%98/pedigree/111/i
She, like most Shikoku that are affected, started showing symptoms at around 6 months of age. It generally starts with head tremors, and then progresses to hindquarter weakness. Symptoms increase as time goes by, and most dogs die at between 3-5 years old. I've included a video that shows her in the mid to later stages of progression.
When Koyuki was finally euthanized, her body was donated to Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University for research, and lysosomal storage disease was confirmed.
Did a serch program abot this desease exist as, here in europ, the Akita's VKH and sebaceous adenitis ?
ReplyDeleteNo. Just like there is no program here in Japan studying VKH or SA.
DeleteThank you for writingg this
ReplyDeleteHi. I'm going to ask a really dumb question-is there any possibility of genetic testing?
ReplyDeleteNo, unfortunately at this time there is no test for this disease in the Shikoku.
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