Tibetan Terriers are More than Good Dogs

If you have ever owned a Tibetan Terrier you know they are amazingly wonderful dogs a little difficult to groom but lovable non the less. One problem with the breed though is that pure breds have a tendency to contract neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis or NCL which is a degenerative neurological disorder like Parkinson's in humans. The dog slowly loses vision and muscle control. Eventually the dog will begin to have seizures and can become irritable and aggressive as the disease takes its toll.Not a fun time. Luckily though a PhD student in Missouri located the faulty gene in the terriers so dogs can now be screened to see if they carry the mutated gene before they are bred. This should greatly reduce the number of Tibetan Terriers with the disease.

This is not only good news for dogs but humans as well. Researchers used the map of the terrier's genome to find what disease if any is associated with the equivalent human gene. And low and behold a form of Parkinson's is associated with the gene in humans. Since researchers know that NCL is caused by the bodies inability to breakdown and recycle some of its used up material which begins to build up in the brain causing the symptoms. They could believe that this same occurrence could be causing this form of Parkinson's and can hopefully start looking for cures or better medications to slow the effects of the disease.