Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder in dogs which symptoms include sleep paralysis, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), increased day time sleepiness and cataplexy, which is the sudden loss of voluntary muscle control. These attacks are induced my strong emotional feelings, usually excitement, causing the canine to have temporary paralysis of muscles. The attack’s only last for a few seconds but may happen several times a day. The dog is still awake when these attacks’ are in progress but is unable to respond to stimulus.
Canine Narcolepsy is a naturally occurring animal model of the disease with similar symptoms to human narcolepsy and can give researcher’s clues to solving both canine and human narcolepsy. It was found that canine narcolepsy is mediated through an autosomal recessive gene; one bad gene from each parent results in the offspring being affected. By using molecular markers on the dog genome researchers were able to isolate the Hcrtr2 (hypocretin receptor 2) gene on chromosome 12 which was common in all narcoleptic dog’s. In Doberman’s the mutation was a 226 base pair inserted within a nucleotide, the base pair mutation forces the Hcrtr2 gene transcript to be spliced differently and this results in a non functional hypocretin2 cell receptor. Studies have suggested that hypocretin gene is a sleep modulating gene and a mutation of this receptor could affect signalling pathways in the brain which facilitate canine alertness.
Canine Narcolepsy is a naturally occurring animal model of the disease with similar symptoms to human narcolepsy and can give researcher’s clues to solving both canine and human narcolepsy. It was found that canine narcolepsy is mediated through an autosomal recessive gene; one bad gene from each parent results in the offspring being affected. By using molecular markers on the dog genome researchers were able to isolate the Hcrtr2 (hypocretin receptor 2) gene on chromosome 12 which was common in all narcoleptic dog’s. In Doberman’s the mutation was a 226 base pair inserted within a nucleotide, the base pair mutation forces the Hcrtr2 gene transcript to be spliced differently and this results in a non functional hypocretin2 cell receptor. Studies have suggested that hypocretin gene is a sleep modulating gene and a mutation of this receptor could affect signalling pathways in the brain which facilitate canine alertness.
While this disease may give observers a bit of a giggle when witnessed, it is of key genetic importance to veterinary and medical science. Successful treatment will not only benefit man’s best friend but also man himself, so they can live happily ever after together and awake.
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Secondary References
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0H-426XXND-F&_user=331728&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000016898&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=331728&md5=af3201699ef6081bb6d18690a8becc5a">click here.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0H-426XXND-F&_user=331728&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000016898&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=331728&md5=af3201699ef6081bb6d18690a8becc5a
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