- "Gastric
Cancer in Chow Chows and Akitas: a canine model for carcinogenesis and
cancer prevention" by principal investigator Elizabeth
McNiel, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVIM Oncology, Diplomate ACVR Radiation
Oncology, a researcher at the University of Minnesota Animal Cancer
Center. Gastric cancer, though it can happen in any breed, is far more
common in Chow Chows and Akitas
than in dogs of any other breed. This study still in progress attempts
to determine the genetic and environmental factors that cause the development
of this cancer. The study is still enrolling
pets. Reference information on articles that come out of this research
will be posted here as they become available.
- Canine Inherited
Disorders Database, "Akita"
by Alice Crook, BSc, DVM, Brian Hill, DVM, MS, DACVIM, and Sue Dawson,
BA, PhD. Joint project of the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre at
the Atlantic Veterinary College, the University of Prince Edward Island,
and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, 1998, rev 2004. This
website is included as a rare electronic resource in this bibliography
generally confined to print resources because it is authoritative, timely,
and important. A listing of genetic diseases to which the breed is prone.
- "Akita: Japan's National
Treasure" by unknown author. In: Dog Fancy, November
2003. Featured breed profile article and cover dog.
- Complete Owner's
Manual to the Northern Breeds by Margaret H. Bonham. Barrons,
2001. An introduction to the spitz breeds of the Northern type, including
the Akita.
- Japanese Dogs: Akita,
Shiba, and Other Breeds by Michiko Chiba, Yuichi Tanabe, Takashi
Tojo and Tsutomu Muraoka. Kodansha, 2003. An introduction to breeds
developed in Japan, including the Akita.
- "Genetic variability
in East Asian dogs using microsatellite loci analysis" by KS Kim,
Y Tanabe, CK Park, and JH Ha. In: Journal of Heredity,
September-October 2001, volume 92, p 398-403. DNA analysis was performed
on 213 dogs of 11 breeds native to East Asia. The Akita was found to
be most closely related to the Hokkaido
Inu.
- "Evaluation of microcytosis
in 18 Shibas" by JL Gookin, SE Bunch, LJ Rush, and CB Grindem.
In: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association,
15 April 1998, volume 212, issue 8, pg 1258-9. Evaluation of blood and
serum samples from 18 Shibas
led the authors to the conclusion that microcytosis is a typical finding
in Shibas. Since the Akita is also predisposed to microcytosis, and
since the breeds have a common origin, the authors posit a hereditary
basis for microcytosis.
- "Incidence of dogs
possessing red blood cells with high K in Japan and East Asia"
by Hiroshi Fujise, Kazunari Higa, Takahiro Nakayama, Kayoko Wada, Hideharu
Ochiai and Tanabe Tuichi. In: The Journal of Veterinary Medical
Science, June 1997, vol. 59, ps 495-497. Report of a study in
which an autosomal recessive genetic defect resulting in high levels
of potassium in red blood cells (hyperkalemia) was found in 10 of 13
Japanese dog breeds or populations. The Akita was one of the breeds
carrying this defect, which can result in a tendency to hemolysis and
can have life-threatening consequences in case of transfusion.
- "Analysis of phylogenic
relationships among the Asian 8 dog breeds (Canis familiaris) through
randomly amplified polymorphic DNA. Korean Journal of Genetics,
June 1997, vol 19. DNA testing allowed researchers to divide Asian breeds
into four familial groups, and the Akita was classified as being most
closely related to the Jindo,
Sapsaree and Tosa, the latter two being non-spitz breeds.
- "Intra- and interbreed
genetic variations of mitochondrial DNA major non-coding regions in
Japanese native dog breeds (Canis familiaris)" by N Okumura,
N Ishiguro, M Nakano, A Matsui, and M Sahara. In: Animal Genetics,
December 1996, volume 27, issue 6, pg 397-405. Major non-coding regions
of mitochondrial DNA were amplified through polymerase chain reamplification
from 73 dogs of 8 Japanese dog breeds and 21 dogs of 16 non-Japanese
breeds. Phylogenetic analysis calculated back approximately 100,000
years showed that the Japanese dog breeds cannot be clearly shown to
be distinct breeds through this angle of analysis.
- "Dystrophic form of
inherited epidermolysis bullosa in a dog (Akita Inu)" by M Nagata,
H Shimizu, T Masunaga, T Nishikawa, H Nanko, K Kariya, T Washizu and
T Ishida. In: British Journal of Dermatology, December
1995, volume 133, issue 6, pg 1000-3. A four-year-old Akita bitch with
a three-year history of dystrophic nails with sores and ulcers at pressure
points on the body was found under electron microscopy to have separation
beneath the lamina densa and a reduction in anchoring fibrils. This
hereditary illness has previously been found in humans.
- "Comparative histopathology
of pemphigus foliaceus and superficial folliculitis in the dog"
by KA Kuhl, FS Shofer and MH Goldschmidt. In: Veterinary Pathology,
January 1994, vol 31, p 19-27. Report of a comparative study of 50 cases
of pemphigus foliaceus and 47 cases of superficial folliculitis. Breeds
affected with pemphigus foliaceus included: Akita, Chow
Chow, Collie,
Siberian Husky, Scottish
Terrier, Chinese Shar- Pei,
"Spitz" and Shetland
Sheepdog. An increased risk of developing this disease was noted
in the Akita, Chow Chow, Chinese
Shar- Pei and Collie.
- Eyewitness Handbooks:
Dogs: The Visual Guide to Over 300 Dog Breeds From Around the World
by David Alderton, photography by Tracy Morgan. DK, 1993. Capsule introductions
to many breeds, including the Akita, with photographs: something of
a dog-watcher's guide with no detailed information.
- "Genetic polymorphism
and close linkage of two plasma protein loci in dogs" by RK Juneja
and T Shibata. In: Animal Genetics, 1992, volume 23, issue
2, pg 143-50. Two codominant, autosomal alleges (F and S) were found
in a study of an unidentified plasma protein (PA4) in 967 dogs of 43
breeds. Interestingly, many middle- and north-eastern Asian breeds (Akita,
Alaskan Malamute, Chow
Chow, Samoyed, Siberian
Husky, and Tibetan Terrier) showed a substantial frequency of the
S allele, while a majority of European breeds carried only the F allele.
The PA4 locus was found to be closely linked to the plasma pretransferrin
1 locus (PRT1), but the significance of this protein remained to be
determined.
- "unknown chapter title"
In: Pedigree Dogs in Color: Book Four - Utility Group
by Roy Hodrien. Nimrod, 1990. Full color illustrations of dogs in the
Kennel Club (UK)'s Utility Group, including the Akita.
- "Hereditary eye problems
in the Japanese Akita" by FG Startup. In: Veterinary Record,
1 March 1986, volume 118, issue 9, p 251. A letter.
- "Uveodermatological
syndrome in the Japanese Akita" by PG Bedford. In: Veterinary
Record, 1 February 1986, volume 118, issue 5, p 134. A letter.
- Bogen om Spidshunde
by Linda Sørensen. Clausen Bøger, 1983. Introduction to
several prominent spitzes, including the Akita. In Danish.
- "Genetic polymorphism
of eserine resistant esterases in canine plasma" by G Sugiura,
Y Tanabe and K Ota. In: Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics,
1977, vol 8, p 121-126. A study of six plasma eserine resistant esterase
phenotypes in 1438 dogs of 38 breeds. The authors found that the phenotypic
variations were controlled by three codominant alleles, which they named
ESA, ESB and ESC. ESB was common in most of the breeds, while ESC was
seen only in the Akita, the Shikoku,
the Hokkaido, Shinshu-
and Mino-Shibas and "a spitz dog";
ESA was uncommon in Japanese breeds, but found more often in European
dogs.
- Nihonken Taikan
by Shiro Itagaki. Seibundo Shinkosha, 1953 (reprinted in 1987). The
title translates as "A Manual of the Japanese Dog"; the author
was one of the founders of Nippo (Nippon Inu Hozonkai) the association
formed in 1928 for the purpose of protecting the native dogs of Japan
and which set forth the first standards for these breeds. In Japanese.
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