• 2006-2009 STCA Health Survey Results

Go to the Optigen website www.optigen.com and register for the test using code BRR10125. Once you register, you will have 30 days to submit your test sample to Optigen.

Faith Beiser

STCA Health Committee

The clinic will take place on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6:00 PM on the grounds of our host hotel, Park Ridge Hotel and Conference Center, 480 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, PA.

To receive the discounted clinic rate (25% off regular price of the test) go to Optigen’s website and pre-register with the special code STCA9102. This code will be active from Sept. 10th to Oct. 2nd.

After you register on line, print out the forms and bring to the clinic with you. We will take care of the mailing of the cheek swab samples and paperwork. Questions may be directed to Faith Beiser at fbeiser@aol.com

Faith Beiser
STCA Health Committee

July 14, 2009 through July 20, 2009 – Summer Discount Days
More Discount Days! Enter the discount code Summer97 between July 14th and 20th in the online order form and receive a 25% discount on your order (includes online discount)

Visit the Optigen website www.optigen.com and register on line with your credit card. Enter code AMSTAFDISC to receive a 25% discount on the test fee.

Return to Discount Days! Enter the discount code StPats93 between March 11^th and March 17^th in the online order form and receive a 25% discount on your order.

http://www.optigen.com/opt9_request.html

We are setting up an OFA database to record results of the American Staffordshire Terrier NCL-A Cerebellar Ataxia test. Eddie Dziuk, Chief Operating Officer of OFA has extended a courtesy to the Am Staff community to encourage registration in this new database. He has agreed to waive the recording fee for for a 6 month period for those dogs who have an existing OFA record (hips, cardiac, thyroid, elbows, etc.) This fee will be waived on eligible dogs until June 30th, 2009. If you are registering an affected dog, this does not apply. There is never a fee for registering an affected dog.

To record your dog’s test results with OFA, go to the OFA website, click on “OFA Applications”, then click on “DNA Based Genetic Disease application”. Print out the application and mail to OFA with a copy of your dogs’s certificate. OFA will record your test results and issue you an OFA certificate and number.

We are in the process of setting up an arrangement with Optigen where you may choose the option to automatically have the results of your test sent to OFA. The discount fee will be $7.50 if you register this way. If you choose to receive the test results first and register with OFA on your own, the fee is $15.00. You would need to print out the application from the OFA website and send it in with the fee and a copy of your dog’s certificate.

At this time, the automatic registration system with Optigen is not in place, so if you want to record your dog’s results, you must mail them in to OFA with the application. We do expect that the application system will be adjusted shortly, however, their system will not accomodate the waiver of the fee that OFA is giving us until June 30th. If your dog is eligible for a free OFA recording, you must mail in the application with the dog’s certificate. After June 30th, the normal fee schedule will be in effect.

I would like to thank Eddie Dziuk for extending this courtesy to us, and I hope that everyone will take advantage of this database as a good resource for sharing valuable information which is vital for the future of our breed.

Faith Beiser
STCA Health Committee

Faith Beiser

I do have some more information I can share with you all about this test. The burning questions people are asking are “How good is the test?” and “Will it become available in the US?”

Taking the first question first – How good is the test? Scientific work is evaluated when data is submitted in a manuscript for publication by a journal. Following submission, the journal editors send the manuscript to external reviewers who read it and give their opinion on its value. The editors’ decision on whether to publish the work is based on these reviews and once published, of course everyone can read it and judge for themselves. This has not yet taken place for this work but will in the near future. Until that time the French group have asked me not to reveal specifics of the research, and it is fair to say that the external review process has not yet occurred. However, there are a few things I can say. Firstly, working independently, both my group and the French group identified the same chromosomal region, and narrowed the disease down to the same handful of genes. It seems unlikely that two separate research groups would reach that same point if the research was incorrect. Secondly, the data they have shared with me suggests the test is very sensitive and specific.

The second question is very pertinent to you all – (Will a test become available in the US?) and the answer to that question is yes, it is possible that the test will become available right here in the US. When I get more specific information on this I will pass it on. In the meantime, be aware that Labrador breeders use the same lab, Antagene, to test for a myopathy (the mutation was identified in France) with no problems.

Natasha Olby