AKC Canine Health - Your Donation Really Does Matter

Our Impact

Measuring Research Productivity

The donors who contribute to the AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) have made significant investments towards the organization’s mission to advance the health of all dogs and their owners through rigorous scientific research.  In return, CHF has remained committed to addressing the health needs of our closest companions through growing our scientific research programs, awarding research funding, and providing educational resources for those dedicated to improving the health of all dogs.
In a general sense, the success of scientific research can be measured by the contribution of a project to the greater understanding of the health concern or disease under study. One tangible measurement of this contribution is through peer-reviewed publication of study results. Peer-reviewed publications are evaluated by researchers in a relevant field of study to ensure standards of quality, credibility, and scientific performance. These publications are accessible to the scientific community, veterinarians, breeders, and the dog-loving public and allow researchers to share investigative findings to continue progress in their field of study.
CHF rigorously tracks the tangible outcomes of our research investments using three metrics: (1) total peer-reviewed publications resulting directly from CHF funding, (2) number of citations per peer-reviewed scientific publication, and (3) impact factor of the journals in which the original research articles were published.  As of June 2018, 704 peer-reviewed scientific articles have been published by CHF-funded investigators, appearing in veterinary-specific journals, such as the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and journals with broader biomedical community readership, such as Science and Nature Genetics. The impact of the scientific work can further be measured by how often the original publications are cited or referenced by another investigator to make strides in the area of health research. CHF-funded research has been cited over 23,000 times since 1995. Published outcomes are critical to understanding the impact CHF programs have had on canine health research. Evidence of such return on investment can promote further research and collaborations, and ensures the dissemination and application of groundbreaking research to canine health. This translates to an enhanced understanding of mechanisms that cause disease, more accurate diagnoses and improved treatments for better health of all dogs. 

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Impact Report

In science, progress is measured in small steps along the way to major discoveries.  By consistently funding the most innovative research, the AKC Canine Health Foundation is realizing both small milestones and major breakthroughs in canine health.  Your support helps us progress towards our goal to prevent, treat and cure canine disease.


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AKC Canine Health Fuondation - Expanding Our Understanding of Exercise-Induced Collapse

Expanding Our Understanding of Exercise-Induced Collapse

 http://www.akcchf.org/research/impact-stories/understanding-EIC.html


Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC) is a medical condition that occurs in a significant proportion of Labrador Retrievers. During an episode of energetic exercise, otherwise healthy dogs will suddenly experience limb weakness and fall down. Although most dogs recover quickly, within 30 minutes, severe episodes of EIC can be fatal. Dogs affected by the condition often experience numerous recurrences, although their gait and behavior return to normal between episodes.
In 2008, scientists made an enormous step forward in their understanding of the pathogenesis of EIC in Labrador Retrievers. They discovered that many dogs with the condition were homozygous for a mutation of the dynamin 1 protein (DNM1). DNM1 is an enzyme that had been linked to various cellular processes, and it made sense that a mutation would be associated with the symptoms of EIC. Soon, with the support of the AKC Canine Health Foundation, scientists were able to develop a test for the mutation, an enormous leap forward for dogs with EIC. Today, Labrador Retrievers with the dysfunctional form of the protein can be diagnosed via blood test with the condition known as DNM1-associated exercise-induced collapse, or d-EIC.
Once the test was available, however, it quickly became clear that the existence of the DNM1 mutation didn’t explain all cases of EIC in the breed. Some Labrador Retrievers with EIC didn’t have both copies of the mutation, others didn’t have copies at all. Therefore, the scientists from the University of Minnesota and the University of Saskatchewan who had developed the test set out to determine if they could understand whether the EIC seen in dogs without the mutation was really the same condition as d-EIC.
In the March 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, those scientists published results suggesting that the two conditions might not be the same after all. Not only did dogs without the DNM1 mutation tend to be significantly older than d-EIC dogs at the time of their first collapse, the ways they collapsed also tended to be somewhat different. Dogs with d-EIC were more likely to experience a collapse starting in their hind limbs, and almost half experienced a collapse only affecting those limbs. In contrast, dogs without the mutation were extremely unlikely to only be affected in their hind limbs, and there was more diversity in which limbs were affected first. Another clear distinction between d-EIC and the type of collapse seen in dogs without the mutation was that dogs d-EIC were much more likely to be thinking and reacting normally at the time of a collapse.
If the type of EIC seen in Labrador Retrievers without the DNM1 mutation isn’t the same as d-EIC, what is it? That’s a good question, and one that scientists will continue to investigate. There’s a good chance that it isn’t a single condition at all, but that multiple disorders may actually be responsible for exercise intolerance in the breed.

Publication:

Relationship between dynamin 1 mutation status and characteristics of recurrent episodes of exercise-induced collapse in Labrador Retrievers, Eva Furrow, VMD, DACVIM; Katie M. Minor, RN; Susan M. Taylor, DVM, DACVIM; James R. Mickelson, PhD; Edward E. Patterson, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, March 15, 2013, Vol. 242, No. 6, Pages 786-791
Dr. Eva Furrow, the lead author on this publication, was also selected as a 2014 AKC Canine Health Foundation Clinician-Scientist Fellow.