Dr. Jeff Vidt

With a special interest in the medical problems of the Chinese Shar-Pei

Category: Shar-Pei Info

Health Issues

Mast Cell Cancer – UPDATED 8/24/10

MAST CELL CANCER seems to be a particularly aggressive and troublesome problem in the Shar-Pei breed.  The following discussion hopefully will provide you with some useful information. CAUSE:  Mast cells are a normal component of the body.  These cells contain granules in their cytoplasm which contain heparin (an anticoagulant), serotonin (an inflammatory mediator), histamine, and a number of other substances.  The release of these vasodilatory, nociceptive and pro-inflammatory molecules cause inflammation, itching, edema, and attract other cells to the area.  This response is usually helpful in responding to allergic reactions, foreign objects, infection, etc.  This also explains why mast cell...

Newsletter

Newsletter: Volume 12, Issue 1 February 2010

On October 23-25, 2009 I attended the AKC Canine Health Foundation 2009 National Parent Club Health Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the seventh conference which is held biannually and was sponsored by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. The purpose of the conference is several-fold. It brings together many of the top researchers in the canine health field to bring the attendees up to speed on their AKC-CHF grant projects. It also allows the various parent club health representatives to catch their vision of the future – future diagnostic tests, future areas of research, and future therapies for canine...

Health Issues

Shar-Pei Triad Disease

Over the years in working with Chinese Shar-Pei I have seen severe skin disease characterized by lichenification (“elephant skin”), hyperpigmentation, thickened plaques or plates of skin, pruritis (itching), rancid skin odor, hair loss (alopecia) and seborrhea (oily skin) due to underlying allergic skin disease with secondary bacterial and Malassezia infection. I call it “SPTriad Disease” as these three skin diseases tend to occur together. The major underlying disease is allergic whether due to hay fever-type allergies, food allergies, flea bite dermatitis and/or contact allergies. I also feel it is possible for Shar-Pei to be “allergic to themselves” because of the...

Health Issues / Shar-Pei Info

Signs Of Cancer

Top ten warning signs of cancer in pet animals: Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow Pet your pet! This is the best way to find lumps, bumps or swellings that could be anywhere on the body. Sore that do not heal Non-healing sores can be a sign of infection or cancer. Your veterinarian can determine the reason why the sore is not healing. Weight loss If your pet is not on a diet but is losing weight, illness could be to blame. Loss of appetite It is not normal for pets to lose their appetite. This may be...

Research

Update on Familial Shar-Pei Fever and amyloidosis research

In the latest issue of The Barker (July/August 2004) Dr. Linda J.M. Tintle published an update on Familial Shar-Pei Fever and amyloidosis research. The major points of the update are as follows: 1. Daniel L. Kastner, M.D., PhD., Chief, Genetics and Genomics Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland will be investigating the genetics of FSF. As part of this project the first planned studies involve examining the DNA of Shar-Pei crosses (mixed breed Shar-Pei dogs). Anyone who owns a Shar-Pei mix is asked to participate...

Research

Recently Funded Study

I received information about a recently funded study to be done into the immunopathology of Familial Shar-Pei Fever/Amyloidosis in the Shar-Pei by Dr. Anne Avery at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University. Acute phase cytokines IL-1b, TNFa, IL-6 and IL-10, and the acute phase proteins C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A will be measured. The goals of the study will be to develop a specific biological test for identifying individuals susceptible to FSF and to aid in the diagnosis of FSF. A second goal will be to study the immune system function of Shar-Pei dogs. This will better...

Research

Mast Cell Cancer Research Study

Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, PhD, Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard and Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, Ohio State University are conducting a study on mapping genes associated with canine mast cell tumors. They will be collecting DNA samples of dogs affected with mast cell tumors and older healthy controls (preferably over 8 years of age) from Shar-Pei. Shar-Pei have about a 5-fold increased risk for mast cell cancer and the study hopes to get samples from 100 affected dogs and 100 unaffected dogs. More information, consent forms, sample submission, etc. can be found at www.broad.mit.edu/mammals/dog/sending_samples.html. The costs of sample collection and shipping would...

Research

CALL FOR SAMPLES FROM HEALTHY GERIATRIC SHAR-PEI

Drs. Francesca Puppo, Elaine Remmers and Dan Kastner at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have asked me to put out another request for samples. We need the owners of dogs that are 12 years of age or older and that have NO history of (or even suspicion of) Familial Shar-Pei Fever (FSF) events or Amyloidosis (i.e. no signs of kidney or liver problems) AND preferably dogs with no known immediate relatives with signs of either FSF or Amyloidosis (parents, siblings or offspring) to send 2 ml of EDTA whole blood to the NIH. As you all well know, the...

Newsletter

Newsletter: Volume 11, Issue 1 November 2007

What’s new on the Shar-Pei front? I have not heard anything specific about the NIH (National Institute of Health) study involving FSF. The preliminary information a few months ago indicated the researchers were pretty close to identifying the genes responsible for FSF. Many thanks again to those of you who allowed blood sample for this study to be taken from your dogs. New information indicates FSF is an autoinflammatory disease and most likely represents an inflammatory response dysregulation problem — a problem involving messenger substances (cytokines, chemotactic factors), receptors, inflammatory mediators and cells involved in the inflammatory response. We are...

Newsletter

Newsletter: Volume 11, Issue 1 November 2007

What’s new on the Shar-Pei front? I have not heard anything specific about the NIH (National Institute of Health) study involving FSF. The preliminary information a few months ago indicated the researchers were pretty close to identifying the genes responsible for FSF. Many thanks again to those of you who allowed blood sample for this study to be taken from your dogs. New information indicates FSF is an autoinflammatory disease and most likely represents an inflammatory response dysregulation problem — a problem involving messenger substances (cytokines, chemotactic factors), receptors, inflammatory mediators and cells involved in the inflammatory response. We are...