CANINE DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY – PATHOGENESIS, CURRENT DIAGNOSTICS POSSIBILITIES AND BREEDING IMPLICATIONS REGARDING GENETIC TESTING

Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (CDM) is an incurable, chronic, slow progressive, autoimmune disease of the canine spinal cord affecting older dogs, medium to large breeds. Etiopathogenesis is still unknown but the latest data show that mutation of superoxide dismutase 1 gene (SOD1) is known to cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in humans. That is why CDM is a canine model of ALS. The initial clinical sings of spinal cord dysfunction (ataxia, spastic paresis, paraplegia) are commonly mistaken with other common problems (hip dysplasia or intervertebral disc disease). The antemortem diagnosis requires exclusion of them all but definitive confirmation of CDM requires pathologic examination of spinal cord tissue. There is no treatment available but novel therapies are promising. The DNA test is a commercially available tool to help breeders avoid producing CDM “at risk” offspring what significantly reduces the frequency of mutated alleles in future generations.