Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures

General Information: Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEWS) is a devastating inherited neurological disease affecting dogs. Affected puppies are usually smaller than their littermates at birth and begin showing difficulties in nursing within a few days. By three weeks of age, surviving puppies exhibit severe neurological symptoms such as muscle weakness, tremors, inability to walk, a wide-based stance, and frequent falling. The disease rapidly progresses to uncontrollable seizures, and most affected puppies die or are euthanized by seven weeks of age due to the severity of the condition.

How to Read Your Dog's Test Results for this Genetic Variant:

Two Variants Detected: Dog Likely Affected

One Variant Detected: Dog Unlikely Affected

No Variants Detected: No Effect

Gene / Testing Information: Genetic testing of the ATF2 gene can identify carriers of neonatal encephalopathy with seizures. This disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, requiring two copies of the mutated gene for a dog to develop the disease. Carriers typically show no symptoms but can produce affected pups if bred with another carrier. Each pup from such a pairing has a 25% chance of developing the disease and a 50% chance of being a carrier. To avoid producing affected puppies, it is crucial to perform genetic testing before breeding and to avoid breeding two carriers together.