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clinical activities
Veterinarians of the Laboratory of
Neurobiology are involved in the
clinical activities of the Alfort
School of Veterinary Medicine.
Stéphane Blot,
Matthias Le Chevoir,
Jean-Laurent Thibaud and Ane Uriarte ensure the neurological consultations
(15
to 20 % of the medical consultations). They evaluate
congenital
deafness (Auditory evoked
potentials) and
diagnose canine neuromuscular diseases
(electromyograms).
In order to achieve these activities as well as
possible, the veterinarians
of the lab work in collaboration with the surgery department and the
medical
imaging department of the Alfort School and the
Veterinary Centre of Cancerology (VCC).
These collaborations allow to detail the diagnoses (IRM, Scanner) and
if
necessary to practise suitable medical interventions (ablative surgery,
treatment by radiotherapy of intracranial and medullar tumours).
The majority of these activities take place in the new veterinary hospital of Alfort, named the CHUVA.
In the neuromuscular disease cases,
complementary histological
examinations are performed in the Laboratory of Neurobiology using specific tools.
In addition, the Laboratory of Neurobiology
contributes to the development
of genetic tests aiming to detect hereditary neuromuscular diseases :
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Detection of the Centronuclear Myopathy in the Labrador Retriever
The centronuclear myopathy is characterized by
an early muscular atrophy.
In collaboration with the Laboratory of Neurobiology, the Alfort School
Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics identified the
genetic anomaly responsible of the disease. It affects a gene coding
for a
protein named PTPLA (Protein Tyrosin Phosphatase-Like A) whose function
remains currently unknown. However, this discovery allowed the
development and the
validation of a genetic test detecting the affected individuals (www.labradorcnm.com).
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Detection of the Cerebellar Ataxia in the American Staffordshire
Terrier
The cerebellar ataxia is a disease related to a
degeneration of the cerebellum.
In the American Staffordshire Terriers, it usually appears between 3
and 5
years of age. It is revealed by balance disturbances, gait disorders
and tremors which cause a severe motor incapacity on the short or long
run. Recently,
the researches of the Laboratory of Neurobiology, undertaken in
collaboration
with the Alfort School Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics (Dr
Marie
Abitbol, Dr Laurent Tiret), the Laboratory of Genetic and Development
of Rennes
(Catherine André) and the Antagene Company, reached the
identification of a
genetic mutation associated with the
disease and the elaboration of a genetic detection test. It is
currently commercialised
by the Antagene Company (www.antagene.com).
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