All,
Available for download below is the new National Specialty Judge Selection Procedure and Judge Selection form. The mail in deadline is Oct 10th, 2008 and hand delivery must be done by the day before the General Membership meeting.
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
Exciting news! Antagene has announced that there is now a genetic test available to detect affected dogs and carriers of cerebellar ataxia in American Staffordshire terriers. A group in France led by Dr. Marie Abitbol has developed this test and I started working with them recently when we both realized we were looking at the same chromosomal region for the underlying problem. We have shared DNA samples, and we do know the American dogs have the same genetic marker of the disease as the French dogs. We don’t know how reliable this test is yet because it is very new and this type of specific information has not been made available. We do know that dogs with the genetic mutation can exhibit very different severities of signs with onset at very different ages. As we get more information on this, we will be sure to share it with you all so keep watching the website for updates. For now, you can go to the website below to find information on the test. This text is in French and it is a news release by the company on the test.
If you go to http://www.antagene.com you will reach the main web page of the company and you can click on a link at the top of the page for English. You can navigate through their pages and see for example how a sample is submitted for the other diseases they test for. The test is not yet listed as being available under the English subheading. Again I would note that this is a very recent development and we will continue to post new information as it becomes available. Keep watching the health web page because we will post all updates there.
Thank you to everyone for your support of my work on this devastating disease. I am so glad that we may now have a test that will help the breed to eliminate this problem from these fine dogs.
Natasha Olby
The STCA has a new website in an effort to keep our membership up to date with current club events and news. The site should keep you better informed and put you in touch with your board and committee members, as everyone is now listed complete with contact information.
Make sure you check out the following sections regarding our 2008 National Specialty:
2008 National Conformation Trophy Donations
2008 National Performance Trophy Donations
Check out the STCA News Blog for all of the latest STCA news related information:
There is a new legislative section to better inform you of the proposed breed specific and anti-canine legislation:
The Archive Committee will be bringing you more informative articles and tid-bits that can be found here:
You can get your current health related information from the Health Committee section of the site:
There is a lot more information to be found here so please check out the entire site. We hope you find it easy to use and informative. There will be new features and information added constantly so make sure to bookmark the site and visit often!
- STCA Web Admin
The STCA Health Committee has instituted an awards system to acknowledge those dogs who have passed health tests for genetic diseases known in our breed. We will be providing certificates and custom enameled pins to recipients.
There are 3 levels of awards, and each level is based on the amount of tests conducted. The awards will be presented on an annual basis at our National Specialty from testing which was conducted from September 1st of the previous year to September 30th of the current year. For this year only, since it is the first year of inception, we will be accepting certifications earned from January 2007 to September 2008.
For more information on this new program please visit the Health Committee page for the awards.
STCA Health Awards
