[quote author=kizkiznobite link=topic=4760.msg71263#msg71263 date=1157787047]
hi – am pleased you came back – was worrying about the wee lad
syringomyelia is a cyst that grows in the spinal area and presses on nerves – it is genetic in ckcs – lots of work has been done both here and in the states to try and isolate the genetic coding – contact your breed club – they will have lots of information – is the vet going to do a MRI scan?
poor lad – he is very young for this to start – have you contacted your breeder? it is important that s/he knows
🙁
http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/health/syringo/news/jan04.html
the club does have lots of info – and they do a newsletter
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Kizz Syringomyelia is actually a malformation of the skull which allows the brain to herinate out of the skull blocking the spinal column & preventing the Cerbral Fluid from draining out of the skull, this causes sphinx to form in the spinal column-it has nothiong at all to do with cysts on the spine. The syptoms can start as young as under six months 🙁
Jules-it is not the end of the world there is medication to relieve the symptoms & the pain when it occurs. From your first post I thought it was SM especially as you have a Cavalier(it does occur in other breeds but no one talks about it except in Cavaliers)
You might want to join this support group http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ArnoldChiari_dogs/
Research is being done to map the whole Genome of the Cavalier in order to find the markers genes for SM(it’s a polygenetic condition) & MVD
