Miniature schnauzers are commonly affected by idiopathic familial hyperlipidemia. This means that many members of the breed have high blood lipid levels (triglycerides and sometimes cholesterol) without a known underlying cause. This is also referred to as primary hyperlipidemia. We are investigating mutations that may increase the risk for moderate to severe hyperlipidemia in miniature schnauzers. If you would like to find out more about this study or submit a DNA sample from a schnauzer with idiopathic/primary hyperlipidemia, please contact Dr. Eva Furrow: 612-625-7493 or [email protected].
Funding
About the investigator
Dr. Eva Furrow is a Small Animal Internist and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and co-director of the Minnesota Urolith Center. She first became interested in the genetic basis of canine diseases when she was an undergraduate at Harvard University. She was offered a summer position in the section of Medical Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. One of her roles that summer included assistance in a study on the genetic muscular disease myotonia congenita in miniature schnauzers. Dr. Furrow later attended the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School where a NIH-Merck grant enabled her to continue research on genetic diseases. Dr. Furrow completed her Internal Medicine residency and PhD at the University of Minnesota and is currently a member of the Canine Genetics Laboratory. Dr. Furrow's ultimate goal is to find better ways to prevent and treat genetic diseases. She also has a personal attachment to one of the high-risk breeds, as her parents-in-law have always had miniature schnauzers.