Against hereditary epilepsy in the Border Collie!

The problem

Epilepsy unfortunately occurs in the Border Collie. An estimated 3 to 5% of dogs develop epilepsy sometime during their first years of life. In some dogs, epilepsy can be treated effectively, but unfortunately this is not always the case. The mortality rate of dogs that develop epilepsy between their first and second year of life lies at around 50% within one year. Only a few percent of the dogs remain seizure-free after medication.

What is more, in about 50% of the dogs so-called therapy resistance occurs and the dogs need several different anti-epileptic drugs. Almost all Border Collies cluster, which means that epilepsy in the Border Collie is a life-threatening disorder for the dog - and highly unsettling and disturbing for the owner.

Being able to prevent epilepsy is very important. The only way to reduce the frequency of the disorder is to apply appropriate breeding measures. However, excluding all dogs that may be carriers of epilepsy has major consequences for the total population ...

What we want to do

As an international group with researchers from the Netherlands, England, Germany, Belgium and Finland, this is reason enough to work on the development of a DNA test! And this is precisely what we want to do!

In a first step we want to isolate DNA from blood samples from affected dogs and unrelated control dogs. In Finland, so-called whole genomic sequencing (WGS) is used to investigate which mutations or variations in DNA cause epilepsy.

Our ultimate goal is to be able to develop either a DNA test or a targeted risk assessment.

What we need

DNA isolation costs 22.50 euros. WGS costs approximately 800 euros per dog.

We are grateful for every contribution, large or small! Together, we'll be able to come ever closer to a solution for hereditary epilepsy in the Border Collie!