Factor Vii Deficiency in Dogs

Factor VII Deficiency (FVIID) was first discovered in humans. This is a disorder due to a lack of proconvertin which is known as factor VII. This substance has a major role in blood clotting function, thus the lack of it causes mild bleeding. About 40 years ago, this type of disorder was discovered in Beagles. Today, it is found in other breeds of dogs such as Airedale, Alaskan Klee Kai, Giant Schnauzer and Scottish Deerhounds.

  1. Background

    • Blood clotting is your body's reaction to control bleeding. When you have a wound or bruise, your smallest blood cells known as platelets, blood proteins called clotting factors, calcium and tissue proteins work together to produce a clot. This clot is a solid mass that acts like a cork to prevent blood leakage. Factor VII is one of these blood clotting factors. If you lack any of the factors needed for clotting then it may lead to a bleeding disorder. Since dogs share the same clotting process, and some breeds are vulnerable to Factor VII deficiency.

      Studies show that Factor VII deficiency in dogs has a very minimal reported death rate. However, this disorder can still cause serious bleeding problems if your dog will have surgery or major injury.

    Cause

    • FVIID is an inherited disorder. It is passed along generations through a defected gene. It's not gender specific. There can be three related classification of offspring. These are clear, carrier and affected. The "clear" ones do not possess the disorder nor pass the mutant gene to their offspring. The "carrier" dogs do not suffer from the disorder but can pass it along to their offspring. The last type is the "affected" which suffers from the disease and may pass along the gene to its offspring. This mutant gene inheritance pattern is referred to as Autosomal Recessive Disorder

    Diagnosis

    • In the past, diagnosing FVIID carriers was difficult. Quite recently, Dr. Beth Callan and her team from the University of Pennsylvania School Of Veterinary Medicine formulated a DNA testing process that can distinguish normal, carrier and affected dogs. You only need to submit a blood sample or the DNA from mouth swabs to their laboratory in Pennsylvania.

    Treatment

    • Currently, there is no known special treatment for dogs with this condition. In an emergency, doctors can transfuse plasma from a regular dog to an affected one, but this is only a temporary cure. Factor VII's nature is to renew itself in the blood. The idea is to find a procedure that replaces this factor in blood continuously, but that cure has not been developed.

      To avoid such a critical situation, dog owners must exercise precaution if the affected dog will undergo surgery or face potential injury and should be prepared to stop the bleeding in case it happens. Also, the owner of a dog affected should be aware of the drugs that can induce further bleeding.

    Prevention

    • Experts are hopeful that eventually the studies made on genetic diseases will unveil a genetic preventive system that will stop the deficiency disorder. For now, the best prevention is to stop the breeding of affected dogs.