Case Study

Possible early DMVD in a 5 year old FS Miniature Pinscher with a positive DCM gene mutation test result

A 5-year-old FS Miniature Pinscher with no clinical signs was presented for evaluation as she had tested positive for the DCM gene mutation.

A 5-year-old FS Miniature Pinscher with no clinical signs was presented for evaluation as she had tested positive for the DCM gene mutation.

DX

Possibly early stage of DMVD.

Sonographic Differential Diagnosis

Possibly early stage of degenerative mitral valve disease. No echocardiographic sign of occult DCM.

Image Interpretation

The anterior leaflet of the mitral valve seems mildly thickened, possibly indicating an early stage of DMVD. However, this abnormality cannot be seen in all views of the MV. There’s no sign of increased sphericity of the left ventricle (an early sign of DCM). Flow across the LVOT is normal in terms of velocity and shape of the profile.

Outcome

Echo and Holter-ECG should be repeated every year.

Comments

Occult DCM cannot be ruled out based on echo alone, so Holter-ECG is strongly recommended to detect and count the number of VPCs (normally less than 50/24h). Regarding the gene testing: Positive heterozygous would mean that the patient is going to develop DCM (because it’s a autosomal dominant trait). However, this test does not appear to be reliable in the European breeding lines; there seems to be another mutation which is responsible for DCM in this population. It could still be possible that larger populations have to be examined over a longer period of time to achieve enough information about sensitivity and specificity of this gene test.

Clinical Differential Diagnosis

None – no certainty that a dog with gene mutation will develop DCM as other factors are associated.

Sampling

None

Video

Patient Information

Patient Name : Annabelle M

Gender : Female, Spayed

Species : Canine

Type of Imaging : Ultrasound

Status : Complete

Liz Wuz Here : Yes

Code : 15_00094

History

DCM gene positive