Another condition that Dr. Michael Court has been investigating in Scottish Deerhounds is stress hyperthermia.
Since not all Greyhounds or Deerhounds are susceptible to stress hyperthermia, a genetic predisposition has been suspected. With support from SDCA, Dr. Court has identified a mutation in the RYR1 gene of dogs with a history of stress hyperthermia.
Since we have studied only a limited number of dogs so far (8 Deerhounds and one greyhound), the usefulness of clinical testing for this mutation is unclear. Consequently, Dr. Court is continuing to recruit cases to see if the RYR1 mutation can explain all cases. Please contact his lab if you have a dog that has experienced hyperthermia to donate DNA (via a cheek swab).