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Dogs and Disease: Effects of Muscular Dystrophy by Glenn Kalick, D.V.M. On January 22, there was a walk-a-thon at the Dreher Park Zoo with the proceeds going to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It was a wonderful event, with affected children and adults and their supportive families walking or wheelchairing around the zoo, enjoying the nice weather and appreciating the animal exhibits. My family was at the primate exhibit when my son, who was having a good day and wanted to walk instead of using his wheelchair, overheard another little boy talking to his mother, saying that animals are lucky — they don’t get muscular dystrophy (MD). My son turned to the boy and told him animals can get muscular dystrophy. “My father’s a veterinarian and he told me,” said my son. Ironically, in my senior year of veterinary school, I was given a topic to present and it was on a form of MD in a litter of golden retrievers. Little did I know that my son would have a form of MD. And I only own golden retrievers. Golden retrievers with muscular dystrophy (GRMD) clinically resemble people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This is an x-linked recessive disorder affecting approximately one in 3,500 newborn human males in whom absence of the protein dystrophin causes progressive degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Clinical signs of GRMD occur soon after birth, as pups are often ineffectual sucklers and must be supplemented. As a result, they are typically stunted in growth. As they get older, they develop a progressively stilted gait and atrophy of certain muscle groups. They hyperextend some joints and overflex others. Some dogs excessively drool, suggesting pharyngeal muscle involvement. Aspiration pneumonia suggests esophageal muscle involvement. Cardiac failure due to cardiomyopathy can also occur. Muscular dystrophies are a diverse group of inherited, progressive and degenerative polymyopathies that involve either a deficiency of or abnormality in proteins necessary for proper muscle function. MD has been reported in humans, dogs, cats, mice, hamsters and chickens. Some MDs affect many muscle groups and some target only specific muscle groups. Regardless of the type of MD, clinical signs are related to muscle weakness, usually at a young age. There are many breeds that have a predilection for MD. Bouvier des Flandres, Brittany spaniel, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, German short-haired pointer, golden retriever, labrador retriever, rottweiler, samoyed, and miniature schnauzer are just a few of the susceptible breeds. The conversation with my son continued for the whole event at the zoo. We would look at the animal in an exhibit and he would come out of the exhibit and ask me if that animal can get MD. “If a monkey got MD, how would it jump from tree to tree and not get tired?,” my son asked me. I told him that there is such a close relationship between GRMD and the human form of MD that extensive research is being done on breeding colonies of these specifically affected golden retrievers and German short-haired pointers all over the world. Most of the research using these dogs is focused on preclinical studies of potential treatments of DMD in people. When I told him this, the expression on his face was one of confusion. I asked him what he was thinking and he told me that he was sad that any dog, especially a golden retriever, could be affected with muscular dystrophy because he knows what it feels like. “When I get home, I am going to give Connor and Kelly (our golden retrievers) a huge hug,” my son said. Glenn Kalick, D.V.M., is the owner of Brookside Animal Hospital of Coral Springs. The web site is www.Brooksidevet.com.