Dog hair can be used to diagnose hormonal problems in dogs

A surprisingly large number of dogs suffer from hyperadrenocorticism.  The symptoms are caused by excessive amounts of hormones – glucocorticoids – in the body.  Unfortunately, though, diagnosis of the disease is complicated by the fact that glucocorticoid levels naturally fluctuate and most methods for measuring the concentration of the hormones in the blood provide only a snapshot of the current situation.  Recent research has shown that glucocorticoids accumulate in the animals’ hair and that analysis of a dog’s hair can provide quick and reliable preliminary diagnosis.

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