DCM Project

Great Dane Volunteers required for Ground-Breaking Research.

Do you have/know someone who has a healthy Great Dane aged 6 or over? If so, LUPA at the University of Liverpool are offering screening FREE OF CHARGE for DCM at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital in Wirral

The LUPA project is a Europe-wide association of vets and geneticists dedicated to investigating genetic diseases of dogs and people. As part of this project, researchers at the University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital are investigating dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Great Danes and other breeds.

This is a disease causing massive enlargement and impaired pumping ability of the heart. Great Danes with the disease will eventually develop heart failure and/or serious heart rhythm disturbances, and will eventually die of the disease. DCM is currently difficult to control in dogs as it is an adult-onset disease that can be inherited. Affected dogs have therefore often already been used for breeding before they are diagnosed.

Hannah Stevenson with Eric.
The Great Dane Club will contribute £25 towards travel expenses for journeys to us from out-with a 100 mile radius.

We are attempting to determine the gene(s) responsible for DCM by comparing the DNA of dogs with DCM to that of dogs without DCM. We are identifying healthy Great Danes by screening and obtaining DNA samples and pedigrees from them. We are also collecting DNA samples and pedigrees from Great Danes already diagnosed with DCM. We aim eventually to develop a genetic test to aid diagnosis from a young age.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the most common heart diseases diagnosed in Great Danes, but we still don’t know enough about this disease in the UK. By participating in our research you will not only get valuable information about your dog’s health, but you will be participating in ground-breaking genetic research, and increasing our knowledge of how this devastating disease affects Danes in the UK.

In order for the study to be successful, we need AT LEAST FIFTY Great Danes to be screened, and an equal number of Danes with DCM. So far we have screened just TWENTY. We know there are still lots of older Danes out there, and we hope to have many more of you take advantage of our FREE screening programme.

Do you have/know someone who has a healthy Great Dane aged 4 or over? If so, they are offering screening FREE OF CHARGE for DCM at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital in Wirral, to include:

1.A full clinical examination
2.A full heart scan (Doppler echocardiogram, performed without sedation or anaesthetic)
3.A blood sample to screen for other diseases in the older dogs .

If you would be interested in offering your dog for inclusion in this study, please contact Hannah Stevenson by telephone (0151 795 6100) or email (hmc79@liverpool.ac.uk)

We are attempting to determine the gene(s) responsible for DCM by comparing the DNA of dogs with DCM to that of dogs without DCM. We are identifying healthy Great Danes by screening and obtaining DNA samples and pedigrees from them.

We are also collecting DNA samples and pedigrees from Great Danes already diagnosed with DCM. We aim eventually to develop a genetic test to aid diagnosis from a young age.

With the help of a large awareness campaign started by a few breed members, the project surpassed the 50 Dane mark. The Great Dane Breed Clubs collectively raised additional funding to continue the good work, totaling £11,500. The Kennel Club Charitable Trust granted a further £18,275 taking the total to £29,775.

This additional funding will allow those who have already taken part repeat scans to see if there has been any change. It will also allow more Danes over six to be scanned for the first time and there is a hope that the age limit may at some point be reduced, in order to include another generation of Great Danes. Whilst £29,775 seems a lot it will not last long and therefore we need to continually think of ways of fund raising.

Hannah Stevenson attended the Great Dane Breeders' & Owners' Associations Championship Show held at the Kennel Club building on the 27th March 2010. Hannah gave an excellent 30 minute talk on DCM during the lunch break whilst the judging was suspended. She covered the following topics; The heart - structure and functionWhat is Dilated Cardiomyopathy?Why is it relevant to me and my dog?What do we know about Great Dane DCMWhy should I get involved?

Not only was the talk and handouts well received she was kept very busy during the day talking to those who wanted more information.

Great News - Age Limit Reduced.

We have had an update from Hannah regarding the DCM project. They have now screened 75 Danes with number continuing to grow. The age limit has now been reduced to 4 so the team at Liverpool is eager to hear from owners whose dogs fall in to this new category.

The Kennel Club registered 1688 Great Danes in 2005 of which 404 were registered in the first quarter. This means there are a lot of Great Danes out there who have just had their 4th birthday and who are now eligible to take part in this research.

Without you, the Dane owner, this important research cannot carry on. Please get in touch with Hannah and the team today.

Let’s together try and improve Great Dane hearts.

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