Jens Haggstrom

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | SLU · Department of Clinical Sciences

Preface In the 1970s, I was a student in veterinary medicine without the slightest idea of what I was going to do in my future professional life. Towards the end of my degree, I often found myself in a public library studying with a young medical doctor who was training to become a cardiology specialist. As I conversed with him, I became totally fa...

Rickets is a disorder of bone development and can be the result of either dietary or genetic causes. Here, related pugs from 2 litters were included. Three pugs had clinical signs including, lameness, bone deformities, and dyspnea. One other pug was found dead. Radiographs of 2 affected pugs, 5 and 6 months old, showed generalized widening, and irr...

Pug dogs with thoracolumbar myelopathy (PDM) present with a specific clinical phenotype that includes progressive pelvic limb ataxia and paresis, commonly accompanied by incontinence. Vertebral column malformations and lesions, excessive scar tissue of the meninges, and central nervous system inflammation have been described. PDM has a late onset a...

Background: Abnormally high serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration, reflecting leakage from or necrosis of cardiomyocytes, is a negative prognosticator for death in dogs. Objectives: To investigate in critically ill cats whether serum cTnI concentration is abnormally high, identify conditions associated with abnormally high cTnI concentra...

Introduction Dilated cardiomyopathy can be associated with taurine deficiency in dogs. Blood taurine concentrations can be analyzed in whole blood (WB) and plasma. Objectives Investigate agreement between taurine concentrations measured in WB and heparin- and EDTA plasma and determine intraindividual variation in concentrations in a group of healt...

Feline cardiomyopathy (FCM) is an important contributor to feline morbidity and mortality. This explorative follow-up questionnaire study was aimed at investigating the long-term outcome in cats breed-screened for FCM (BS-FCM) in three Nordic countries. Records of cats with ≥1 BS-FCM between 2004–2015 were included. Of the 1113 included cats, 104/1...

Serum triglyceride concentrations increase in dogs in overweight condition, which is typically assessed by body condition score (BCS). However, their associations with other markers of energy homeostasis are poorly characterized. The present study aimed to evaluate the associations between both BCS and triglyceride levels and other markers of lipid...

Objectives The aims of this study were to assess the potential associations between the serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration in healthy cats and feline characteristics, systolic blood pressure, heart rate (HR), echocardiographic measurements and storage time; and to compare cTnI concentrations in healthy cats with concentrations in cats wi...

Auscultation methods enable non-invasive diagnosis of diseases, e.g. of the heart, based on heartbeat sounds. Regular, early examinations using machine learning techniques could help to detect diseases at an early stage to prevent serious health conditions and then provide optimal therapy through continuous monitoring. There is already a lot of wor...

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential biomarkers for numerous diseases. Characterization of the whole blood (WB) miRNA-transcriptome (miRNome) in cats is lacking, which limits the potential use of miRNAs as biomarkers for i.e. feline heart disease. The aims of the present study were to identify and evaluate circulating miRNAs in feline WB by...

Information about prevalence and breed predisposition of canine chronic enteropathy (CE) is limited. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate period prevalence, breed disposition, clinical features, diagnostic results, and treatment response of CE in dogs presenting at two Swedish animal hospitals during 2013–2018. A medical record se...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common and potentially fatal heart disease in many cat breeds. An intronic variant in TNNT2, c.95‐108G>A, was recently reported as the cause of HCM in the Maine Coon. The aim of this study was to determine this variant’s allele frequency in different populations and its possible association with HCM. Based on...

Introduction Screening to assess likelihood of preclinical dilated cardiomyopathy (PC-DCM) prior to advanced diagnostic tests in Doberman Pinschers (DP) is desirable. Objective To investigate the combined value of physical examination (PE), N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) for identifying PC-DCM in...

Objectives To describe the medical treatment prescribed or modified by veterinary cardiologists at the enrollment visit in dogs included in The Longitudinal Outcome of Canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) registry (LOOK-mitral registry) and to evaluate the influence of the EPIC trial and other selected variables on cardiologist prescr...

Gastrointestinal (GI) mucus is continuously secreted and lines the entire length of the GI tract. Essential for health, it keeps the noxious luminal content away from the epithelium. Our aim was to characterize the composition and structure of mucus throughout the various GI segments in dog. Mucus was collected from the stomach, small intestine (du...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009726.].

Introduction Although challenging, predicting outcome in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is of importance to owners and veterinarians. Our aim was to compare the prognostic value of selected one-, two- and three-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic methods to predict cardiac related and all-cause mortality in MMVD dogs. We hyp...

Background The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) affects valvular degeneration and dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) exhibit alterations in 5-HT signaling. In Maltese dogs, 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5-HT transporter (SERT) gene are suggested to associate with MMVD. Hypothesis/Objectives Determine the associatio...

Selective breeding for desirable traits in strictly controlled populations has generated an extraordinary diversity in canine morphology and behaviour, but has also led to loss of genetic variation and random entrapment of disease alleles. As a consequence, specific diseases are now prevalent in certain breeds, but whether the recent breeding pract...

Introduction Large breed (LB) dogs develop dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). Echocardiography is required for definitive diagnosis but not always available. Our objective was to assess clinical utility of thoracic radiographs alone, and in combination with physical examination and electrocardiography findings,...

Feline diabetes mellitus shares many features with type 2 diabetes in people, regarding clinical presentation, physiology, and pathology. A breed predisposition for type 2 diabetes has been identified, with the Burmese breed at a fivefold increased risk of developing the condition compared to other purebred cats. We aimed to characterize the serum...

The amyloidoses constitute a group of diseases occurring in humans and animals that are characterized by abnormal deposits of aggregated proteins in organs, affecting their structure and function. In the Abyssinian cat breed, a familial form of renal amyloidosis has been described. In this study, multi-omics analyses were applied and integrated to...

Introduction The Longitudinal Outcome of Canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) registry (LOOK-Mitral registry) was established to describe the natural history and predictors of outcome in dogs affected by MMVD. This study was intended to describe the baseline characteristics of dogs in the LOOK-mitral registry. Animals Dogs with echoc...

Background Measured indirect blood pressure (BP) results in cats in a clinical environment might be affected by stress and characteristics of the cats. Hypothesis To investigate the influence of clinical setting, cat characteristics, and life situation on BP and pulse rate (PR) in healthy cats. Animals Ninety‐four healthy Domestic Shorthair, Birm...

Background: Situational hypertension and differences between devices complicate interpretations of systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurements in dogs. Hypothesis/objectives: To evaluate if time point of in-clinic SBP measurement, type of oscillometric device, and operator affect SBP measurements in conscious dogs. Animals: Sixty-seven privatel...

We present GSD_1.0, a high-quality domestic dog reference genome with chromosome length scaffolds and contiguity increased 55-fold over CanFam3.1. Annotation with generated and existing long and short read RNA-seq, miRNA-seq and ATAC-seq, revealed that 32.1% of lifted over CanFam3.1 gaps harboured previously hidden functional elements, including pr...

Introduction Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common cause of left-sided congestive heart failure in dogs. We sought to identify predictors of first reoccurrence of congestive signs (CS) within 180 days in dogs with MMVD and clinically stable heart failure. Animals A total of 445 dogs affected by stable American College of Veteri...

Background: The protein chromogranin A (CgA) is stored and co-released with catecholamines from the stimulated adrenal glands. Increased plasma concentrations of CgA have been shown in people with heart disease. The aim of the study was to investigate whether plasma concentrations of the CgA-derived biologically active peptides catestatin and vaso...

Background Echocardiography is a common method to measure heart size in dogs. The heart dimensions are influenced by body weight (BW) and potentially by breed. Objectives To establish BW‐dependent prediction intervals (PIs) of the left ventricular (LV) linear dimensions in a population of dogs of many breeds in multicenter environment, and to iden...

In golden retriever dogs, a 1 bp deletion in the canine TTC8 gene has been shown to cause progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), the canine equivalent of retinitis pigmentosa. In humans, TTC8 is also implicated in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). To investigate if the affected dogs only exhibit a non-syndromic PRA or develop a syndromic ciliopathy similar...

In golden retriever dogs, a 1 bp deletion in the canine TTC8 gene has been shown to cause progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), the canine equivalent of retinitis pigmentosa. In humans, TTC8 is also implicated in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). To investigate if the affected dogs only exhibit a non-syndromic PRA or develop a syndromic ciliopathy similar...

We present GSD_1.0, a novel high-quality domestic dog reference genome with chromosome length scaffolds and gap number reduced 41-fold, from 23,836 to 585. Annotation with novel and existing long and short read RNA-seq, miRNA-seq and ATAC-seq, revealed that 32.1% of closed gaps harboured previously hidden functional elements, including promoters, g...

Here we present a new high-quality canine reference genome with gap number reduced 41-fold, from 23,836 to 585. Analysis of existing and novel data, RNA-seq, miRNA-seq and ATAC-seq, revealed a large proportion of these harboured previously hidden elements, including genes, promoters and miRNAs. Short-read dark regions were detected, and genomic reg...

Suspicion of cardiac disease in dogs and cats may arise due to information obtained from owner complaints and/or physical findings. The approach to the patient with suspected feline and canine cardiovascular disease is to obtain as much information as possible in order to make a correct diagnosis. This chapter discusses signalment, case history and...

Kinesin-2 enables ciliary assembly and maintenance as an anterograde intraflagellar transport (IFT) motor. Molecular motor activity is driven by a heterotrimeric complex comprised of KIF3A and KIF3B or KIF3C plus one non-motor subunit, KIFAP3. Using exome sequencing, we identified heterozygous KIF3B variants in two unrelated families with hallmark...

Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of myocardial disorders of mostly unknown etiology, and they occur commonly in cats. In some cats, they are well‐tolerated and are associated with normal life expectancy, but in other cats they can result in congestive heart failure, arterial thromboembolism or sudden death. Cardiomyopathy classification i...

In young Cavalier King Charles spaniels (CKCS), intermittent mitral regurgitation (iMR; defined as moderate to severe mitral regurgitation [MR] in a small proportion of heartbeats), has been associated with an increased risk of cardiac death due to myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). It is associated with increased R-R interval variability. Lit...

Background Increased plasma concentration of N‐terminal‐prohormone B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) can be detected in cats with cardiac disease. Potential effects of feline characteristics on NT‐proBNP concentration may influence clinical usefulness. Objectives To evaluate potential effects of feline characteristics on NT‐proBNP plasma conc...

Background The Evaluation of pimobendan in dogs with cardiomegaly caused by preclinical myxomatous mitral valve disease (EPIC) study monitored dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) as they developed congestive heart failure (CHF). Objectives To describe the changes in clinical and radiographic variables occurring as dogs with MMVD and c...

Background: Thoracolumbar myelopathies associated with spinal cord and vertebral column lesions, with a similar clinical phenotype, but different underlying etiologies, occur in pugs. Objectives: To further characterize the clinical and neuropathological characteristics of pugs with longstanding thoracolumbar myelopathy. Animals: Thirty client...

Background: Epidemiologic knowledge regarding noncardiovascular and all-cause mortality in apparently healthy cats (AH) and cats with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (pHCM) is limited, hindering development of evidence-based healthcare guidelines. Objectives: To characterize/compare incidence rates, risk, and survival associated with non...

Higher concentrations of circulating serotonin have been reported in Cavalier King Charles spaniels (CKCS) compared to other dog breeds. The CKCS is also a breed highly predisposed to myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). The aim of this study was to determine urine concentrations of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), the major metabolite and e...

Ultrasound provides information on kidney morphology, but studies relating structural and functional abnormalities in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are lacking. The aim of this descriptive cross‐sectional study was to compare individual kidney (IK) B‐mode ultrasound abnormalities to IK glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated by scintigraphy norma...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is clinically important in canine medicine. Current diagnostic tools lack sensitivity for detection of subclinical CKD. The aim of the present study was to evaluate urinary peptidome analysis for diagnosis of CKD in dogs. Capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated presence of approximat...

This report, issued by the ACVIM Specialty of Cardiology consensus panel, revises guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD, also known as endocardiosis and degenerative or chronic valvular heart disease) in dogs, originally published in 2009. Updates were made to diagnostic, as well as medical, surgical, a...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Background Early detection of decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in dogs is challenging. Current methods are insensitive and new biomarkers are required. Objective To compare overall diagnostic performance of serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and serum cystatin C to serum creatinine, for detection of decreased GFR in clinically stabl...

Objectives To establish normal reference ranges for standard echocardiographic measurements in Salukis and to examine whether bodyweight, age, gender and heart rate had an influence on the echocardiographic variables. Materials and Methods Seventy‐five privately owned healthy purebred Salukis, aged 2 to 10 years were included. Case history was obt...

Background Assessment of left atrial (LA) size is important in medical decision making and prognostication in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). Real‐time 3‐dimensional (RT3DE) and 2‐dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) methods may be used to assess LA size. Objectives To compare measured LA volumes obtained by RT3DE with those calcu...

Background Markers of lipid and glucose metabolism are used in both clinical practice and research. Detection of abnormal laboratory results often relies on species‐specific reference intervals, but interbreed variation can also affect data interpretation. Objectives The purpose of the present study was to compare concentrations of selected bioche...

Congenital vertebral malformations (CVMs) are common in brachycephalic dogs such as the pug, and are often considered incidental findings. However, specific CVMs have been suggested to be associated with neurological deficits in pugs. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical importance of CVMs in the pug by comparing computed tom...

Background Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is more prevalent in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCSs) compared to dogs of other breeds at a given age. Abnormal valvular stress is thought to contribute to the development and progression of MMVD, and a relationship exists between mitral valve (MV) morphology and stress acting on the valve. O...

Catecholamines can be used to evaluate neuroendocrine tumors, stress, and potentially pain, but catecholamines degrade rapidly. Their metabolites normetanephrine (NME) and metanephrine (ME) have better stability in urine. In cats, urine sampling in a home environment would be beneficial to reduce effects of clinical stress and simplify sampling. We...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Introduction: Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) has several biological functions. In different species, excessive 5-HT has been linked to valvular lesions, similar to those seen in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease. Previous studies suggest higher 5-HT in healthy Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCSs), a breed highly affected by myxom...

The development of high throughput SNP genotyping technologies has improved the genetic dissection of simple and complex traits in many species including cats. The properties of feline 62,897 SNPs Illumina Infinium iSelect DNA array are described using a dataset of over 2,000 feline samples, the most extensive to date, representing 41 cat breeds, a...