Overo Lethal White Syndrome Case Study

Dog breeding is dangerous because to make a perfect dog they too often inbreed and cause birth defects and other health issues in dogs. Terry Allen, an “In These Times” senior editor who has written the magazine’s monthly investigative health and science column since 2006, argues in “We’re Breeding Dogs to Death” that “neither price, pedigree nor being loved like a member of the family can shield a dog from the pain, breathing difficulties, cancer, panoply of debilitating genetic disorders, mental illness, crippling physiognomy and shortened life span that disproportionately plague purebreds.” The article “Selective Breeding or Artificial Selection” explains that in dogs, the “frequency of being homozygous for rare recessive disorders increases when inbreeding occurs, potentially causing severe

Ever since the beginning of human history, to the reign of the Mongols, and even to the colonization of the Americas, disease has played a role in shaping society. Its negative impacts has depopulated many cities, countries, and empires. In the distant past, it was quite difficult to avoid contagious diseases. However, in today’s society, steps have been taken to discover new effective modes of treatment through animal testing. Such testing; however, has proved to be quite a controversial issue due to ethics and its utilization of animals. Despite any objections, the use of genetically bred animals is imperative for the purpose of discovering new medications to treat various terminal diseases.

In this paper, I will be discussing the equine genetic disease Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP) or Impressive Syndrome. I will share the origins of HYPP through the genetic influence of an American Quarter Horse Stallion called Impressive. There will be coverage of the signs of HYPP and comparison to similar symptoms found in other ailments. I will explain the causes of HYPP attacks in regards to the abnormalities in afflicted horse’s potassium levels and voltage-gaited sodium channels. In closing, I will provide recommendations in management practices, prevention and possibilities for eliminating for HYPP from the equine industry.

Diakakis N, Dessiris A, Spanoudes K. 2008. Case report: Hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis-like syndrome in a criollo argentino horse. Equine veterinary education. 20 (8): 396-400.

“From time to time they got in trouble with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose sometimes overzealous members decided the horses were being mistreated. At such times the SPCA would send a veterinarian to examine them. Each time the vet gave them a clean bill of health. The usual conclusion was that he had never seen healthier, more beautifully kept animals in his life. (Webster-Carver, A Girl and Five Brave Horses)”(Todd).

While Impressive himself was HYPP negative, he has been genetically linked to being a HYPP carrier. Owners of horses descending from Impressive began to notice episodes of muscle twitching and paralysis. Early cases were often mistaken for tying up syndrome or colic. Tying up syndrome has similar signs as HYPP but the cause is not due to a genetic mutation, and colic is a broad term for abdominal discomfort. The AQHA and the University of California-Davis Equine Research Laboratory funded an early research project and found that the problem that the halter horse owners were seeing was linked to high levels of potassium in the blood. The University of Saskatchewan released a news report in 1992 stating that all of the HYPP affected horses descended from one sire: Impressive. Thousands of horses came from Impressive bloodlines and thus HYPP is also known as the “Impressive” line. Also in 1992, researchers confirmed through DNA testing that the horses within the Impressive line were carriers of

The kid was placed in dorsal recumbency and a midline incision was performed from the xyphoid to the pubis to allow examination of the abdomen. The presentation of the abdominal organs was found to be in a normal orientation. There was an abundant amount of omental and pelvic adipose tissue that had been stored. There was no evidence of congestion or hemorrhage in any of the organs of the abdominal cavity. Grossly, the liver, spleen, kidney, bladder, lymph nodes and glands, and the vascular structures all appeared to be normal. The rumen was incised and a sample was collected for possible analysis of toxins however, the ingesta was consistent with the known diet of the entire herd. The diaphragm was incised allowing the lungs to collapse. The rib cage was removed to facilitate examination of the thoracic cavity. The orientation of the thoracic organs was normal, and the thorough examination of the heart, thymus, nerves, esophagus, and vascular structures were all grossly normal. The lungs contained a moderate degree of congestion with several of the major bronchi collecting

"Conditions such as muscle pain or skin irritation were associated with low serum levels of selenium or zinc." (Wichert et al.) "Deficiencies may cause hair loss and poor wound healing." "Low intakes of selenium cause white muscle disease. Foals are born weak and may not be able

People have been breeding horses to obtain a certain appearance for a long time. People have preferences in how tall their horse is, what its conformation is like, its muscling, and even its color. Horses have been bred to display solid coat colors as well as coats of mixed colors. Frame Overo is a very appealing coat color type that consists of two different colors marking the horse. Frame Overo is a color associated with paint horses that have white patches on their abdomens that do not extend to the midline of the back, where they are a darker color such as brown (Metallinos et al, 1998). As appealing as these coat colors are, breeding two frame Overo horses for their coloring comes with great risk. Less than twenty-five percent of offspring produced by these animals inherit a lethal genetic disease known as Lethal White Overo or Lethal White Foal Syndrome ("Frame Overo").

organ damage and the malfunctioning of the epithelial tissue were caused by this disease called

Each year about 340 horses die due to effects of insulin resistance. That is almost half the deaths caused by horse racing. If a horse or pony suffering from Insulin Resistance and they eat high sugar feed, and eat normal, unsoaked hay the large increase in sugar may cause death or lead to serious life threatening conditions. In horses that don’t suffer from Insulin Resistance and Cushing’s it wouldn’t be as great a concern if they got out and ate feed and hay, but thus act becomes life threatening and fatal for horses and ponies suffering from Insulin Resistance and Cushing’s. Insulin Resistance, Cushings, and Endocrinopathic Laminitis are all very complex diseases that many experts are still gaining an understanding for. Glucose, insulin, and cortisol are major factors not only in Insulin Resistance (IR) and Cushings (PPID) as individual diseases, but they also serve to link the two diseases to Endocrinopathic Laminitis in addition to each other. Insulin Resistance and

Although there has been thousands of reports of animal abuse in the field of medical testing, there has also been an extraordinary amount of success that come from these examinations. With these tests, scientists were able to advance in

Colic is one of the most common ailments experienced by horses and is more common in horses than any other animal. It is more common at night and is often connected with irregular feeding. This is because of the horses’ inability to vomit and unload the stomach, the small size of the stomach and the great length of the intestines, puckering of the large intestine allowing food to lodge there, the range of movement the large intestine has within the abdomen and finally, the frequency a horse is affected with internal parasites. Colic can be fatal so it is vitally important that a vet should be called if colic is suspected. Colic is a set of symptoms pointing to severe abdominal pain. True colic relates to conditions arising in the intestines

This assessment will explain what the role of the liver and pancreas is and how it aids digestion, including what they produce and how this makes the digestive system efficient. It will also include the interaction of the circulatory and respiratory systems during exercise and at rest and how they work separately and together. Lastly, it will discuss what could go wrong with these systems and how it will affect the horse.

However, sometimes, in some cases, it is possible to develop a new way of conducting a test involving few animals. They are as following: