Treatment Options for CAH and Copper Storage Disease

[sophies...@gmail.com]

Hi everyone.  I haven't posted in awhile since I lost my Sophie to CAH and Copper Storage Disease in May 2013.  Since I know there are new people here, I thought I would share what I learned.

First of all, if your dog is diagnosed with CAH, always request the test for copper toxicity, and don't give in until you get it tested.  That was my mistake.  The lab my vet used to determine CAH also runs the test for copper toxicity and it was FREE, but had to be requested.  We did not run the copper toxicity test until about 8 months later, and that is when we found that Sophie's CAH was actually caused by Copper Storage Disease.

Sophie was a mixed breed, possibly with Lab, and Labs are apparently susceptible to CSD.  The premium dog food I was feeding her contained lamb, which is high in copper to begin with.  We had the ingredient list reviewed by the vet school at Mizzou, and the particular brand I was feeding her was even higher in copper than other dog foods containing lamb.  Had I known this, I would have changed her dog food earlier and possibly changed the outcome.

I am hoping this is good news for other dogs though.  We first found out about Sophie's liver condition when she was undergoing Stem Cell Replacement Therapy.  The cells were harvested from her tummy and that is when we found out her liver looked really bad.  When we found out she did not have cancer but CAH, we went ahead with the Stem Cell procedure.  The great news is that her liver values actually improved after the procedure.  I can only imagine that had I known about the CSD and changed her dog food that her liver values would have continued to improve.

The company that processed the stem cells had previously reported liver value improvements in dogs who received the procedure, but the procedure was not done for liver issues, but joint issues.  I guess the liver value improvement was a happy side effect.  Maybe in the last couple of years more info is available on this procedure to help dogs with liver problems.

If it would have worked, I would have given Sophie my liver, as I'm sure most of us would for our babies.  Good luck to everyone out there.

Melissa