The condition becomes more severe with age, potentially causing kidney failure, although some cats can live a long and normal life without any problem. They also plan to hold PKD detection clinics at UC Davis and various other sites. In Europe, liver failure from amyloidosis is common in Siamese. Detection can be difficult, as biopsies often miss the sites of amyloid deposition, but affected cats often live a normal and long life with undetected amyloidosis. Dr. Lyons is collecting DNA samples from cats with amyloidosis to help further our understanding of how the disease is inherited.
Several genes are already suspect.
Pedigrees and DNA samples from the various lines of Munchkins are being studied in an effort to determine whether or not dwarfism is linked to mutations in the same gene in cats. Heart Disease Heart disease, which can be caused by many environmental effects such as nutrition or viral exposure, is a common problem in cats. American Shorthairs, Maine Coons, Bengals, Russian Blues and Ragdolls are breeds that seem to be affected. Dr. Lyons is working in collaboration with cardiologist Mark Kittleson, a faculty member at UC Davis, and colleagues at Ohio State University and Colorado State University to elucidate the genetics involved in heart disease. The rare disease, which also affects the Sphynx breed, may be autosomal recessive, although the inheritance pattern is not certain.