Lisa and Others,

I agree that a lot of dogs (especially dogs examined early in the history of the on-line CERF database) have Category E conditions. But what _are_ punctate cataracts? Are these the same thing as what I have heard called triangular puppy (or juvenile?) cataracts?

Also, does anyone have the "key" to the condition codes (e.g. E5547)?

Thanks again, Claire McCall

As far as I can tell, the numbers after the category are simply a statistical number. For instance, E7000 was the 7000th dog entered into the database with an "E" category (across all breeds, not the 700th Chessie!!!) They seem to have dropped this accounting system for the more recent dogs. My guess was, they were collecting this data for one or more researchers. Once the paper(s) was published, they no longer needed the "head count".

Punctate cataracts are just that; single, defined opacities of the lens. This is where the science of genetics meets the art of medicine smack on. Depending on WHO is doing the viewing, these SAME cataracts can be listed as "significance unknown" by one vet (i.e., a "category"), while another refuses CERF clearance.

Using my own dog as an example, Gypsy was refused clearance because of her "cateracts". Yet the next year, lo and behold, they were viewed by another vet (more time + second opinion) as a "category". Lately (the last three different individuals who have seen her in the last seven years, in California and NY) the cataracts have not even shown up on examination!!! Does she or doesn't she? The "E" category has disappeared from her record, so I guess several years of clear reports have made that go away. But did the genes? Or were they ever cataracts in the first place?

One thing that I wonder about is how many of the category E dogs are brindles or sables. Gypsy is a brindle, and one vet, when I pointed out that I was looking for cataracts, said that he sees many Chessies, and they sometimes have pigment granules that refract light in a similar way to very small (i.e. punctate) cataracts. The way Chessies "scatter" pigment in their coats would also be reflected in their eye structures. Something to think about.

The only way for breeders to deal with this, would be to track the category E animals. If it is a true cataract, then it will get denser with time. So, on first diagnosis, a second opinion is a good thing, but a follow-up exam should be performed a year later by the same vet that saw them the first time. That way, if there are changes consistent with cataracts, then you will know for sure. Likewise, if a first-degree relative also came up with a definitive diagnosis of cataracts, you would know. Otherwise, it is a "category", and CERF's present policy is to recommend not breeding two dogs with the same category together.

One other thing: categories are only for diagnosed conditions. That means if a dog had corrective surgery for entropion, it would NOT show up as a category! So don't count on "categories" to weed out the entropion dogs. T'aint so!

Just more interesting stuff for my book, I guess!

Lisa

What about triangular cataracts? Or is that another topic...

PB