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How do
I donate samples
for Saluki studies?

 

Your tax-deductible donations, made payable to SHR Inc, should be sent to

MaryDee Sist DVM
1629 Meech Road
Williamston, MI 48895

517-655-1354
517-655-5551
Salukihealth@aol.com

2006 Annual Meeting
& President's Report

The annual meeting of SHR was held at the MSU Livestock Pavilion, E. Lansing, MI at 11:30 AM on Dec 2, 2006.

The corporate records and treasurer's report for the corporate year end of June 1, 2006 were approved. The current officers (MaryDee Sist, President, Nancy Badra, Secretary and James Steckley, Treasurer) and board member (William Schall, DVM) agreed to extend their terms of office.

Secretary's report: The SHR website has been updated as needed. The arrangement of the site has allowed easy access to information, with the most current information available first. As well as posting memorial donations on the site, sympathy and/or thank you cards and donor acknowledgement letters have been sent. Unfortunately, pedigrees can no longer be printed, since the original DOS operating system uses a floppy disc. If a windows update could be purchased, then further pedigree analysis can be done. It has been proposed to put some articles concerning autoimmune conditions and cancer on the web site.

President's report: I continue to get approximately 4 phone calls and 10 email inquiries concerning Saluki health issues per month. I have received inquiries for an UK made dog evolution documentary featuring Salukis. I have also had correspondence with the Finnish Saluki Club which has done a tremendous job of cataloging Saluki health conditions. I hope that these can be compared to health issues in US Salukis partially through an updated health survey. I have also been contacted by the AKC Gazette columnist about doing an article on SHR in the spring. Most correspondence has been concerning heart conditions where previously cancer was the major concern. I continue to mail reprints of the studies when requested.

I was fortunate to attend The Genes, Dogs and Cancer IV conference held in Chicago in September and meet the researchers conducting the AKC/CHF hemangiosarcoma study. I shared with them the incidence of hemangiosarcoma found in our Saluki studies and offered our banked samples. They were impressed with the volume and breath of documented information and samples available and offered to include our HSA tissue samples in phase II of their study. Dr Noriko Tonomura requested fresh Saluki blood samples to include in the phase I screening of 200 Golden Retriever samples. To accommodate this, I attended the SCOA Western Regional and drew blood samples from 22 non-related dogs and then collected blood samples from local Salukis. I was very pleased with the participation and many more samples could have been collected on related dogs. 49 samples were sent to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT for inclusion in the original DNA HSA screen.

Update of current projects: The proceeds of the fund raising auction SCOA sponsored auction held at the Western Regional Specialty Show in Pleasanton, Ca on October 21, 2005 was used to fund the balance ($3633) of the CHF sponsored Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT study (Mapping Genes Associated with Canine Hemangiosarcoma). That leaves a balance of Approximately $1100 in our CHF Donor Advisory Fund.

Update of current projects: Saluki Cancer Registry - 57 additional suspected cancer samples have been received in the last 4 years. All have been examined histologically at DCPAH and paraffin imbedded tissue samples have been banked for future DNA analysis. The results of this Saluki Tumor Registry were published in the Summer 2006 ASA Newsletter (attached). We continue to accept tumor samples for inclusion in the Registry.

There has been no update from the CHF concerning the Colorado State University study entitled "Role of Circulating Endothelial Cells in Physiological and Pathological Angionesis in Dogs" so I assume that it was terminated.

The CHF grant entitled "Tailored Antitumor Vaccines for Canine Hemangiosarcoma" was fully funded by the CHF. There were no updates as to their progress by Dr. Modiano at the Cancer Conference.

Dr. Schall will continue to work on getting the various studies in suitable form for publication.

Proposed projects: There were a number of malignancies of either the spleen or soft tissues that were undifferentiated sarcomas that could not be classified as HSA. Immunohistochemical studies can help determine if these were early HSA and it would be prudent to invest is this project. I have also been involved in discussions with MSU's oncology section about a pilot project involving immunohistochemical correlation with various HSA treatments.

Approved proposals:

- Approve continued histological examination and banking of suspected cancer samples at DCPAH for inclusion in the Broad HSA study.

- Approve to continue epidemiological and pedigree analysis of HSA Salukis.

- Approve funding (up to $2000) of immunohistochemical analysis of undifferentiated sarcoma samples at DCPAH.

- Approve continuing to collect and bank Saluki blood DNA samples of Salukis related to dogs that have died of HSA.

-Approve updating the pedigree computer program to a max of $150.

-Approve adding up to $4000 to SHR's CHF Donor Advisory Fund

-Disapprove funding AKC/CHF 2006 Pending Grants No. 774, 759 and 779 at this time.

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