In this day of modern technology for both human and animal health, breeders, pet owners, and animal lovers are concerned about the health issues and care for their animal friends and family pets. Because of this concern, I have attempted to find some answers about PKD; diagnosing, treating, and the future.
Veterinarian research has produced vaccines which protect animals from most of the contagious, deadly diseases that ran rampant not too many years ago.
The Pet Industry is continually increasing the nutritional value of most pet foods, striving to give a 'balanced' diet for most ages and types of animals. There are now available foods to support almost any 'special' need of your kitty.
As recent at 1998 veterinarian researchers have become interested in, and are attempting to make an accurate diagnosis of a disease which has been known to affect humans, cats, dogs, and other animals for forty years. PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) is a progressive, genetic disease of the kidneys, and involves the growth of cysts in the kidneys, causing the animal to become debilitated, followed by death due to renal failure. While PKD in humans has been under investigation for a number of years, the same disease which has been found in felines, predominately in Persians, has not received this interest, partly because of the lack of diagnostic tools.
Although renal failure has been a major cause of death in cats and dogs, most veterinarians could only diagnose the cause of the renal failure on postmortem necropsy. One such veterinarian researcher has stated in several scientific papers that two of three deaths resulting from renal failure, indicate on necropsy studies that cysts are present in the kidneys. When this diagnosis is made, particulary in young kittens, veterinarians recommended the parent cats be neutered, thus hopefully ending this genetic disease. However, this has proven to be very frustrating for both veterinarians and animal owners. No prevention has been successful when administered after the death of the feline offspring.
In this last year, diagnosing PKD in felines by the use of ultrasound has proven to be effective. It is, for now, the most accurate method of diagnosing cysts in cats. It cannot be 100% accurate because even the most skilled sonographer using the best equipment cannot achieve the resolution needed to detect very small cysts. But progress in this direction is being made and one well known researcher, Dr. David Biller of Ohio State University, has completed one research project which indicates the hereditary process of PKD is through autosomal-dominant gene inheritance. The dominant process could be controlled with selective breeding much easier than the recessive genetic process, which cannot be predicted.
To me, as a cat owner and lover, this means that sometime in the not too distant future, this disease might be bred out of our cats, affording them and their offspring a longer, healthier life.
Further information is available to anyone who might have a cat that was diagnosed with PKD, or just interested in finding out more about the disease, at the Feline PKD Home Page, http://www.felinepkd.com. Other studies and information are linked to this page, as well as statistics gathered from around the world regarding PKD.
It has been my personal experience, as well as many breeders and pet owners, that some answers we find are vague, even frustrating, and usually lead to further questions. This process is necessary in research to guide us toward the goal of ending the inheritance of this deadly disease. Because of researchers such as Dr. Biller, we are making progress and hopefully will find the answers that we need in the near future.
