This week, University of California, Davis, researchers reveal the discovery of a genetic mutation across breeds that is responsible for chondrodystrophy (the skeletal disorder leading to shorter legs and abnormal intervertebral discs) in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (sciencedaily.com)
«There's a lot of literature that points to chondrodystrophy in dogs as an exciting animal model for degenerative disc disease in people,» said Bannasch, who also holds the Maxine Adler Endowed Chair in Genetics. (sciencedaily.com)
In these breeds, chondrodystrophy predisposes the discs to being prematurely converted to an abnormal type of tissue, whose consistency is unsuitable for the discs» function. (allstarfrenchbulldogs.com)