Inherited copper toxicosis in the Bedlington terrier: the prevalence in asymptomatic dogs |
| |
| Authors: | M. E. HERRTAGE,C. A. SEYMOUR&dagger ,R. A. S. WHITE,G. M. SMALL&dagger ,D. G. D. WIGHT§ |
| |
| Affiliation: | *Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES;‡Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ;†Physiological Laboratory, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EG;§Department of Pathology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ |
| |
| Abstract: | Copper toxicosis in the Bedlington terrier is an inherited defect. This paper describes the investigation of 62 Bedlington terriers, none of which had shown any clinical signs of liver disease, in order to assess the prevalence of copper toxicosis in the breed in the United Kingdom. Twenty one (33·9 per cent) of the dogs investigated had abnormally high levels of copper in the liver. No reliable circulating haematological or biochemical parameters were found to identify those dogs with increased hepatic copper levels and the diagnosis could only be established by liver biopsy. Affected dogs had liver copper levels of between 257·5 and 2558·0 μpg per g of wet weight (1163·8 ± 164 μg/g, mean ± SEM) compared with normal dogs which had between 9·9 and 118·6 μg/g of wet weight (49·0 & 4·4 μg/g, mean ± SEM). Copper accumulation in the liver of affected dogs could also be detected on histological examination using special stains. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
