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Scottish Terrier Liver Enzyme Study..
The San Francisco Bay Scottish Terrier Club is supporting
a study by Dr. Twedt into the frequent health issue in the breed of abnormal
liver enzymes. From Dr Twedt's proposal:
"The Scottish terrier owners frequently report
elevated liver enzymes to be a common finding in their breed. While there are
many causes for abnormal liver enzymes we believe many result from the abnormal
production of certain hormones in the adrenal glands. We have identified
abnormal production of adrenal “sex” hormones such as progesterone and others in
a number of Scottish terriers with abnormal liver enzymes. These dogs have
minimal or no clinical signs, elevation of predominately one liver enzyme,
alkaline phosphatase and on liver biopsy have changes referred to as a vacuolar
hepatopathy. We also know studies giving normal dogs progesterone that they
develop similar changes we see in Scottish terriers with this proposed syndrome.
The cause for increased adrenal hormones and liver disease in Scottish terriers
has not been investigated other than through our clinical observations.
We propose through this grant request to first determine what normal hormone
concentrations are for normal Scottish terriers and if they are different than
other breeds and then to investigate hormone concentrations in dogs suspected of
having this syndrome. Once affected dogs are identified we hope to further
characterize the condition, determine the cause of the syndrome, and investigate
the need for specific therapy. Once we characterize this condition we should be
able to disseminate this information to Scottish terrier owners and
veterinarians. It is possible the information obtained could lead to a means of
easy identification of this syndrome, further investigation into the role of
genetics and exact cause of the condition. "
