The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent, treat and cure diseases in all dogs, announces an exciting new grant that aims to address thyroid disease in dogs. Funding for this grant is made possible by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), a long-time partner of CHF.

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common endocrine disorders in adult dogs with a majority of cases caused by autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). The dog's own immune system attacks the thyroid gland causing progressive, irreversible destruction of thyroid gland cells resulting in loss of thyroid hormone production. This disorder is similar to Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a leading cause of hypothyroidism in people.

Brian Petroff, DVM, PhD and Kent R. Refsal, DVM, PhD, of Michigan State University will study dogs with elevated thyroglobulin autoantibodies (TgAA) as a marker for early stage AIT. Read the AKC CHF's full release for more details.