Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis


The neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a class of inherited neurological disorders that have been diagnosed in dogs, humans, cats, sheep, goats, cynomolgus monkeys, cattle, horses, and lovebirds. Among dogs, NCL has been reported in many breeds, including Border Collies. NCL is almost always inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.

All of the NCLs have two things in common: pathological degenerative changes occur in the central nervous system, and nerve cells accumulate material that is fluorescent when examined under blue or ultraviolet light. Although neurological signs are always present in canine NCL, these signs vary substantially between breeds and can overlap with signs present in other neurological disorders.

 

Autosomal recessive heredity

Parent 1 genotype

Parent 2 genotype

Normal

Carrier

Affected

Normal

All Normal

½ Normal
½ Carrier

All Carriers

Carrier

½ Normal
½ Carriers

¼ Normal
½ Carriers
¼ Affected

½ Carriers
½ Affected

Affected

All Carriers

½ Carriers
½ Affected

All Affected

 

Genetic DNA testing available

CL DNA Border Collie Test Results