Phase One of the study was designed to test the feasibility of serial ACTH testing. We wanted to see what level of variation was present in the breed and how difficult it would be to collect the data.

This phase is now complete. We have 53 individual test results on 20 different dogs. Each test provides a pre ACTH and post ACTH value. The PRE value is an indication of the normal or "resting" adrenal function of the dog. The POST value is an indication of the maximum adrenal function of the dog.

All of the accumulated study results are shown in the figure below. Data for each individual dog is included as a separate attachment to the owner.

None of the dogs have values, which indicate Addison's disease (loss of adrenal function).

Figure 1 displays the Pre and Post ACTH values from the 53 tests. The top of the gray bar represents the PRE value for that test, the top of the black bar indicates the corresponding post value from the same test. The lines under the bar graph group the tests from any one individual dog. For five dogs only one test is available.
 
 

From these results we have drawn the following conclusions:

1. As expected, in all of the tests the POST value was higher than the PRE value.
2. PRE values range from 0.6 to 8.2 with an average of 2.7
3. POST values range from 3.5 to 15 with an average of 8.9
4. Some dogs have significantly lower or higher PRE values. (p-value 0.001)
5. Some dogs have significantly lower or higher POST values. (p-value 0.009)