Summary
Three American Cream puppies from a litter of six were admitted for evaluation and treatment of lameness caused by multiple pathological fractures. Because of a poor prognosis, all three of the affected dogs were ultimately euthanatized. Based on the histopathological findings of the bones and a collagen analysis from cultured skin fibroblast cells which confirmed the presence of abnormal type I collagen, the presumptive diagnosis was osteogenesis imperfecta. In humans, more than 90% of the cases of osteogenesis imperfecta are caused by defects in type I collagen (11). Osteogenesis imperfecta has rarely been described in animals and none of the previous reports document the disease in more than one dog from a single litter.
Three American Cream puppies from a litter of six developed multiple pathologic features without a history of trauma. A diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta was made based on histopathology and results of type I collagen analysis from cultured skin fibroblasts.
Keywords
Osteogenesis imperfecta - collagen - dog
