Central Hypothyroidism in Miniature Schnauzers.

Background: Primary hypothyroidism is a common endocrinopathy in dogs. In contrast, central hypothyroidism is rare in this species.

Objectives: The objective of this article is to describe the occurrence and clinical presentation of central hypothyroidism in Miniature Schnauzers.

Atlanto-axial malformation and instability in dogs with pituitary dwarfism due to an LHX3 mutation.

Background: Canine pituitary dwarfism or combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) in shepherd dogs is associated with an LHX3 mutation and can lead to a wide range of clinical manifestations. Some dogs with CPHD have neurological signs that are localized to the cervical spine. In human CPHD, caused by an LHX3 mutation, anatomical abnormalities in the atlanto-axial (C1-C2) joint have been described.

Pituitary dwarfism in Saarloos and Czechoslovakian wolfdogs is associated with a mutation in LHX3.

Background: Pituitary dwarfism in German Shepherd Dogs is associated with autosomal recessive inheritance and a mutation in LHX3, resulting in combined pituitary hormone deficiency. Congenital dwarfism also is encountered in breeds related to German Shepherd Dogs, such as Saarloos and Czechoslovakian wolfdogs.

Objectives: To investigate whether Saarloos and Czechoslovakian wolfdog dwarfs have the same LHX3 mutation as do Germans Shepherd Dog dwarfs.

A contracted DNA repeat in LHX3 intron 5 is associated with aberrant splicing and pituitary dwarfism in German shepherd dogs.

Dwarfism in German shepherd dogs is due to combined pituitary hormone deficiency of unknown genetic cause. We localized the recessively inherited defect by a genome wide approach to a region on chromosome 9 with a lod score of 9.8.