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Noninvasive Assessment of Neuromuscular Disease in Dogs: Use of the 6-minute Walk Test to Assess Submaximal Exercise
S Cerda-Gonzalez1, L Talarico2, R Todhunter1
1Department of Clinical Sciences (College of Veterinary Medicine), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Background:
Noninvasive methods of quantitating exercise tolerance in dogs with neuromuscular disease are needed both for clinical and research use. The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) has been validated as a reliable test of exercise tolerance in dogs with pulmonary and cardiac disease, but not in dogs with neuromuscular disease.
Hypothesis/Objectives:
Distance walked and number of steps taken during 6MWT will differ between Labrador retriever dogs with centronuclear myopathy (CNM) and control (ie, healthy) littermates.
Animals:
Eight purebred Labrador retrievers were drawn from a purpose-bred research colony (status: 3 clear, 2 carrier, and 3 homozygous mutants for the protein tyrosine phosphatase-like A (PTPLA) gene mutation associated with CNM).
Methods:
Pilot, prospective, Case-controlled study. Researchers were blinded to disease status. Each dog was leash-trained and acclimatized to the testing area (length, 12.8 m). At the start of testing, each animal was fitted with a pedometer, a timer was started, and dogs were allowed to walk at their own pace for 6 minutes. Distance walked and pedometer readings were recorded.
Results:
Degree of paresis varied among affected dogs, and was reflected by significant differences in distance walked between CNM-affected dogs and those with clear and carrier genotypes (P = .048). Pedometer readings did not vary according to genotype (P = .86).
Conclusions:
The 6MWT appears to differentiate between the ambulatory capacity of normal and CNM-affected dogs. Additional studies are needed to confirm this relationship in a larger number of dogs, and to evaluate the ability of the 6MWT to differentiate between dogs with variable severity of neuromuscular disease-associated exercise intolerance.
