Rhodesian Ridgeback - Follow-up report from the Rhodesian Ridgeback World Congress 2016

The following summary provides further information on the RRWC Health Committee's dermoid sinus investigation.

The Ridge on the back of the Rhodesian Ridgeback is the hallmark of the breed, but unfortunately the genes for the ridge can also cause the congenital neural tube defect known as dermoid sinus ( Duplication of FGF3, FGF4, FGF19 and ORAOV1 causes hair ridge and predisposition to dermoid sinus in Ridgeback dogs., Hillbertz N, Nature genetics,2007 vol: 39 (11) pp: 1318-1320) . However, as the Nature Genetics article title indicates, the ridgegene only causes PREDISPOSITION to dermoid sinus.

An Australian Folic Article study from 1996 (by Roberts J., and A. Nicholls-Grzemski - A Role for Folic Acid in the Prevention of Dermoid Sinus in the Rhodesian Ridgeback) shows correlation with the intake of Folic Acid and the occurrence of DS. Since then many breeders have been supplementing their bitches, and commercial food brands have added folic acid to their formulas.

At the 2016 congress the RRWC Health Committee was tasked to fully investigate the correlation between nutrition and Dermoid Sinus. The first step was to investigate the prevalence and development of the disease; and the results are heartening, the percentage of DS puppies has fallen from 4,5% to less than 1,5% in the last 10 years.