Cardiovascular system
Cardiovascular diseases are common and often have a genetic cause. By combining DNA research with clinical data from screenings and tissue research, we can determine how these conditions arise and develop.
Research on cardiovascular diseases
Which cardiovascular diseases do we study?
What are we researching?
Although a genetic cause is often suspected, the exact genetic background of many of these conditions is still unknown. At our center of expertise, we conduct research into disease-causing genetic variations using DNA analysis. Using these variations, we develop DNA tests that give breeders insight into the risk of passing on heart defects to offspring.
We also conduct tissue research. By better understanding how heart disease develops and what changes occur at an early stage, we can—in collaboration with human cardiology—determine at what point in the disease process intervention is possible and how we can detect the condition as early as possible.
How do we do that?
A good diagnosis is essential. Our cardiologists offer various screenings for dogs and cats at the animal hospital to detect potential heart problems at an early stage. Together with specialists in human cardiology, we are working on the development of improved screening methods. With additional tissue research, we also study the early cellular and molecular changes that underlie the disease process.
We then use the collected clinical data for genetic research. We map the DNA of both sick and healthy animals and compare the results. If we find genetic differences between these groups, we develop a DNA test based on this information. In this way, we support the transition from curative to preventive breeding.