Is Congenital MegaE genetic?

[ldpeterson]

No, I'm not planning on breeding Maiya but am more curious than anything as there is no clear cut answer it seems. Of course there is no clear cut answer on anything related to MegaE. *sigh*

Obviously if you had a MegaE dog you wouldn't want to breed it anyways, but does there seem to be a genetic pattern or is it just a fluke thing that pops up once in a great while? Is the whole litter usually affected or just one puppy?

Just some curious "dog breeding newbie questions" what do you think?

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Here's a start: http://www.upei.ca/cidd/Diseases/GI%...aesophagus.htm

[ldpeterson]

Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAANHere's a start: http://www.upei.ca/cidd/Diseases/GI%...aesophagus.htm

You are the link queen!

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

I want a crown!

I love that site-it has so much good (scary) information.

[ldpeterson]

Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAAN I want a crown!

I love that site-it has so much good (scary) information.

LOL!

Yes, I actually have that site bookmarked lol and didn't even know it. I guess I didn't read about the breeding part. Obviously it's genetic in a few breeds (from what it says), but still unknown in others. It has a lot of good/scary information and it's even scarier when you live it everyday!

I was thinking of all Maiya's siblings and wondering if they were affected too.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

And I wonder if the reason it may be "unknown" in other breeds is that research hasn't been done.

I will participate in any trial, any time I can with Bella and Nina to help the breed out. They did the IgA deficiency one-and that information ended up helping Nina. I wish there was a clearinghouse of information for studies that would send out notices when your breed or disorder is being studied.

It has to be scary to live with.

Hopefully other people will have more info. on known practices.

[ldpeterson]

I doubt it's been studied very much. It should be though as it's a CRAPPY disease that so many dogs get euthanized for because vets are so uninformed on how to manage it.

Obviously many people wouldn't want to go as far as we have for Maiya, but we are weirdos anyways. However, if it got studied more perhaps they could find better ways (easier ways) of treating it. I don't know why this one seems to be put on the backburner.

I would love to participate in a study on this. As much as I love Maiya I even thought of donating her body (when she's gone and hopefully that will be forever from now) to A&M for studies. I don't know if you can do that though, but would consider it to help others.

I hate to see anyone else go through this and the info on it is sooooooo limited you can only go through others experiences if you want anything other than the basic information.

[EastGSD]

With puppies born with Mega you have to investigate and find out if it is a result of a persistant right aortic arch....then yes, it is inherited for the most part.

[Chris Wild]

PRAA and MegaE are not the same thing.

PRAA is caused by the arterial shunt that allows bloodflow around the lungs in utero to fail to atrophy and disappear after birth like it's supposed to. This arterial shunt remaining intact causes constriction of the esophagus near the heart, which in turn can lead to pouching of the esophagus before the constriction, as food backs up due to the bottleneck.

This is very different from an enlarged esophagus caused by MegaE. The esophagus of a PRAA dog is normal sized and functions normally, before and after the constriction. The difference between true MegaE (enlarged esophagus) and PRAA (bottleneck causing a back up) is very obvious on barium x-rays.

MegaE is genetic. PRAA is congenital, but is not considered to be genetic. It is something that happens in all mammals, including humans, though it is more prevalent in some breeds of dogs more than others.

Good news with PRAA is that if it does cause a problem, it can be fixed with surgery. For MegaE there is no fix, only management of the symptoms.

[ldpeterson]

How common is congenital MegaE? The articles I read make it seem like a rare find, but the vet doesn't seem to think it's all that rare.

I know there are a lot of breeders on this board and am wondering if you've seen a lot of this disease or even encountered it suprisingly in your own litters.

Sorry for stupid questions but I'm just interested in the prevelance, and genetics of this illness, especially in the GSD.