BUSTER ALERT – HERDING BREEDS GENETIC FLAW

 

This is not a new “alert” but it managed to get attention again by detailing the death of a family dog.  Being critical of deceitful projects is as hard as it is risky so I chose not to deal with this one.  Who wants to be perceived as trashing Barbie Dolls and telling men that big-bore engines are bad for the environment?

 

Messages from concerned subscribers kept coming.  “This is important” and “Why is the site not covering this?” finally persuaded me not to make editorial decisions based on personal beliefs.  So here is the Buster Alert.  Read it, there is some good information but at the end, there are comments from herding breed people, sound advice from a practicing veterinarian, and a broader analysis of such projects. 

 

Before you begin, we should mention that one of the drugs mentioned is rarely given to human patients because of its cost!  Zofran is more than ten times the cost of other effective nausea meds.  Here is the Buster Alert, fresh off the internet.

 

MDR1 flaw, drug reactions, death.  …  the mission, undertaken in Buster's name, is to make a difference in the health and welfare of other herding breed dogs, just like Amber did for children everywhere.  Folks, you all need to know this yesterday, not tomorrow: IT'S NOT JUST IVERMECTIN!!  

 

Molecular biological research is proving that many herding breed dogs suffer a genetic flaw called MDR1 - multiple drug resistance deficiency. In sum, the barrier (P-glycoprotein) that protects the brain by transporting a variety of drugs from the brain tissues back into the capillaries is flawed. This is the root cause of the disastrous neurological effects, including death, caused by the ingestion of ivermectin. But, IT'S NOT JUST IVERMECTIN (also known as Avermectin, and the anti-parasitic used in the trade name drug Heartguard and commonly used to treat demodic mange).   It's also almost certainly these drugs (alternate names, common usage, and trade names follow the generic name):  (editor’s note: punctuation suffered from the original so I’ve emphasized the treatment indications where possible)

Flagyl; Rozex; Metrogel, Butorphanol (pain relief after spay/neuter; cough suppressant and canine flu)  Torbutol; Butorphic; Dolorex; Morphasol;

Turbogesic Acepromazine (tranquilizer/calming agent and pre-anesthetic)  Ace; ACP; Atravet Cyclosporine or Ciclosporin (allergy treatment/immunosuppresant)

Sandimmune; Neoral; Cicloral; Gengraf; Restasis, Vinblastine and Vincristine (chemotherapy for cancers & leukemia) cancer regimens called CHOP and Stanford V, Doxorubicin or Adriamycin or Hydroxyldaunorubicin (chemotherapy for cancers & leukemia) Doxil; cancer regimens called ABVD, CHOP, and FAC Loperamide (diarrhea) Imodium; Lopex; Dimor; Pepto, Digoxin (heart ailments) Digitalis (Foxglove) family.

 

Additionally, neurotoxicity in dogs with the MDR1 genetic flaw is suspected to have been caused by: Ondansetron (nausea and vomiting) Zofran; Emeset; Emetron; Ondemet , omperidone (nausea, vomiting, and to stimulate lactation) Motilium, Paclitaxel (cancer) Taxol; Abraxane Mitoxantrone (cancer/leukemia) Etoposide (cancer/leukemia) Eposin; Etopophos; Vepeside; VP-16 Rifampicin or Rifampin (antibiotic - infections, influenza, pneumonia, staph, meningitis) Rifadin; Rifater; Rimactane; Rifinah; Rimactazid Quinidine (heart) Morphine (pain relief, anesthesia, cough suppressant, anti-diarrheal, (shortness of breath)  Domperidone (disorders of the gastrointestinal tract)

The sender stipulates “any errors or omissions in the above are solely my doing, the credit for most of this information goes to: Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine,  Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory  Pullman, WA (Phone/FAX 509-335-3745)  You can learn more about the MDR1 defect and about testing your herding breed dog by going to their website: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do not leave it up to your vet to know this ... YOU must print this out and know about MDR1 ... it IS a matter of life or death.  And, again, please cross-post widely. It's also not just Aussies - affected breeds include Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties), Australian Shepherds, Old English Sheepdogs, German Shepherds, Long-haired Whippets, Silken Windhounds, Skye Terriers, and a variety of mixed breed dogs.”

- end of email notice -

 

We asked people who have extensive experience with Herding breeds for input.

Fred Lanting, international judge, author of several books, German Shepherd breeder responded “This particular "news" item is legitimate. Yet, like so many other stories, it is a case of Chicken Little racing around the barnyard, squawking "The sky is falling!"   I once knew a newspaper publisher who when criticized for running old items, said "it's still news if you hadn't already heard it". Over a decade ago there was a flap about Collies having bad reactions to a few such drugs and tranquilizers/anesthetics, and about Greyhounds and other low-body-fat breeds being at greater risk under anesthesia. It turned out that it would take a higher than normal dosage of the wormer to affect the Collies and Shelties, an amount they were not likely to encounter if taking ivermectin for prophylactic (heartworm prevention) use. … most of these things would have made fewer waves and died out earlier in the days before Internet and instant messaging. Nowadays, it is the custom to plead, "Urgent: send this to everybody on Earth, Mars, and Venus as soon as possible!"’

 

Peggy Mickelson, AKC judge Terriers and Herding Groups, a tremendous resource, “I shared this with my GSD list and will let you know if there's any feedback...I've not heard this before, either...altho some breeds, as you know, are more sensitive than others.. Collies can't do Ivomec, we know, but lots of Shepherds are on it...not only mine, but my Cavaliers, too... and nobody's had any reactions to it yet (after years and years)........ of course, it will only take one time.....”

 

Michelle Redfern, DVM, “breeder’s vet” who exhibits Group level Old English Sheepdogs “This work was originally started by looking at Ivermectin sensitive collies.  The gene was found and is present in 90%of all collies today.  When they broadened the search to look at other herding breeds, it was found that a lot of these dogs also have the same gene present.  It can cause adverse reaction if these dogs are given these medications.  However, and this is a big point, it is not a given that a dog with this gene will have an adverse reaction if given any of these drugs.  The most common use of the test is if a dog has an adverse reaction, and is found to carry the gene then dosing with these drugs should be modified, or used with greater caution.  No drug is without side effects.  The best case of this is looking at some of the adverse reactions reported with placebo studies.  They often have reactions in 3-???% of the individuals given a sugar pill.  Go figure. Also, there is a test available for anyone who is concerned that their dog might have this gene mutation.  It is a simple test that can be performed to check (don't know the turnaround time) but since there are multiple drugs listed that are commonly used for a variety of important treatments, rather than just saying that these drugs should not be used in any of the listed breeds, it would be prudent for concerned owners to have their dog tested.  The web site you listed will have more information about testing for this gene mutation.”

 

Laurryn, first to know Adverse Reactions www.dogsadversereactions.com/DSC.html “I've heard no more about it then what was forwarded to you....... but if you hear any else, let me know?”

 

We want to believe that veterinary research facilities don’t use dogs for research.  Not true.  There has been extraordinary pressure and negative publicity in the past, much of it well deserved.  Vets solicited business on behalf of a particular “university” charged with state and federal violations for horrendous cruelty relating to eye studies….  The “university study” was indeed part of a Rocky Mountain area college but the study, like most, was only “affiliated” with the college.  So all things are not as they seem but if research is to continue, guinea pigs are needed, at the least, samples from privately owned dogs.

 

One way to get those samples is to persuade the public that it is for a good cause, which in the long run, it usually is.  It should be noted however that it is also at no cost to the researchers who are often paid from grants, donations, and tax dollars based on budgets which include procurement of samples.  There is also the value on both sides in obtaining samples from cooperative owners - no risk of cruelty charges.  I attended an event where the “representatives” of a “University study” on some obscure but deadly “new disease modality” wanted blood samples, to be taken from the jugular vein.  I asked questions.  They finally admitted, they were with a research group, not a university; the study was for an equally obscure human drug, the collectors credentials were not available (vets or vet students?) and having lost all the marketing ploys to honesty, they tried to persuade attendees that it was good and “some day” would help dogs and that everyone could “save the cost of mailing the sample.”  I asked why they weren’t paying owners for allowing them to take blood for something that would likely never help dogs and for which the drug company would make billions.  Having no answer, they left.  A fellow breeder later said she hoped I was happy, that I had sabotaged the project…  My reply was that if it had been as she believed, the “vets” would have had no trouble answering my questions.  They sabotaged themselves by assuming they were going to con a bunch of nincompoop dog owners. Had they been forthright, they might have gotten more samples.

 

So don’t panic over every so-called new disease.  Dr. Erbeck speculated that parvo “mutated” in the laboratory and there is reason to believe he was correct.  A certain pharmaceutical company cashed in selling feline distemper vaccine, while they were developing a vaccine for parvo. Conversely, there was a vaccine for canine Lyme Disease before there was a reported case following the “big scare” press releases.  Canine flu is another example.  Said to be “rampant” and killing dogs, particularly greyhounds, we do not have one first hand case report in which the written diagnosis was canine flu. We hear from hundreds of dog owners every week.  Things sometimes are misdiagnosed, given the handiest explanation when a vet is puzzled or if a dog dies under mysterious circumstances, whether at home or in the vet’s care.

 

There are many valuable research projects out there and this may be one of them.  But based on feedback from extremely well informed people, it is not a cause for panic regardless of your breed.  It is an important cause and a sad situation for the owners of a dog named Burt but there are far more serious threats to all dogs. 

 

Dr. Redfern offers the best solution.  If you are concerned, have your dog tested.  If you have had no related incidences in your line, don’t worry about it until you do.

 

Now my caveat: I am not a veterinarian.  I have no veterinary training.  I am simply a skeptic who has studied medical and marketing phenomenon for over thirty years.  If you have comments, please include the link to this article and contact the Editor: Barbara J. Andrews