Tibial tuberosity conformation

janices

New member
I was doing some reading and came across reference on selective breeding for cruciates. I was just wondering if anybody does check the conformation of the tibial tuberosity widths as consideration when doing selections.

http://www.ufaw.org.uk/CRANIALCRUCIATENEWFOUNDLAND.php

"8. Methods and prospects for elimination of the problem Selective breeding to tackle this disease is complicated by: the high prevalence of the mutant gene in the breed (thought to be 60%). This is because affected dogs can reach the breeding age years before the disease develops; and because healthy carrier animals exist (Wilkie et al 2006a). Breeding from animals from lines with low prevalence of the disease or out-crossing with unaffected dogs may help reduce the risk of the disease. Identification of the gene and development of a genetic test would greatly aid in tackling the problem.
Until that time Inauen et al (2009) have suggested selective breeding based on the conformation of the tibial tuberosity – a protrusion on the front of the tibia to which tendons attach. They hypothesized that the smaller the width of the tibial tuberosity, the greater the cranial tibial thrust force acting on the joint leading to increased rates of ligament degeneration and rupture. They concluded that only dogs with relative tibial tuberosity widths of greater than 0.9 should be used for breeding. This test is not yet being used as part of a breeding programme as far as we are aware."


Tibial tuberosity conformation as a risk factor for cranial cruciate ligament rupture in the dog

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19151865
 
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Ginny

New member
First I've heard of this. The article says that they're not aware of anyone doing this screening in a breeding program. It would be interesting to find out if early spay/neuter impacts the tibial tuberosity width.
 

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
Mila's ortho surgeon pretty much said the exact same thing to me during my talks with him. I'm definitely going to email this to him, if he hasn't seen it already.
 
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