Health Committee Report - May 2005

Vicki Daitch, chairperson
Vicki@pngusa.net 

The health committee is currently working on an exciting project that will, if all goes well, answer the question of what is a normal malamute thyroid range once and for all.  We are coordinating with the AMRF and CHF to make this project a reality.   Assuming that everything works out, we are counting on AMCA members to offer blood samples from their healthy dogs to get this research going and keep it on schedule.   

CHF grant number 305 is still very active, but the real work has to wait until enough samples are collected.  Dr. Potts has no doubt that he will eventually get the samples he needs, but he had hoped to get at least 20 samples each from the breed clubs who supported the study.  To my knowledge, no AMCA members have participated so far.   

Given how passionately some members wanted the club to be part of this study, we strongly encourage you to personally get out and find malamutes with the autoimmune conditions specified (thyroid, diabetes, hemolytic anemia) to participate.  You can direct people to the Malamute Health web site for details.  (www.malamutehealth.org)  These are terrible diseases – please help! 

Morris Animal Foundation has welcomed us into their fold and will be keeping the AMCA abreast of its research projects.  Morris is currently funding multiple research projects on canine osteosarcoma (bone cancer), which at least anecdotally appears to be a common form of cancer in malamutes.  We will be following this research with interest.  Morris also funds, among other things, epilepsy research, and an interesting study at Cornell on the genetic underpinnings of hip dysplasia.  Canine hip dysplasia, as you all know, is caused by mutations in multiple genes as well as environmental factors, so that figuring out how to predict it with DNA will likely be a long process.  Until then, hip x-rays evaluated by OFA or PennHip are still our best defense. 

As always, the committee is in contact with other breed clubs regarding possible projects of mutual interest.  Marge Kranzfelder of the Pomeranian club has been particularly helpful in keeping us up to date on their “black skin” projects.  (Pomeranian “black skin” is similar to our “coat funk.”)  We are committed to sharing information and working together to get the most out of research projects.   

If you haven’t already received it, we hope to have the skin and coat survey underway in the very near future.  Please respond as quickly as possible, and give the most accurate answers you can.  Because so little is known about coat and skin problems in malamutes, this survey will be of great help in planning future research.   

As always, if you have any questions or any information that you would like the health committee to see, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks!