At the moment we are working on following on-going projects:
- Recognition of osteoarthritis in pet rabbits.
Collaboration project of PetBone and FaunaFysio research groups of University of Helsinki.
- Dental disease in rabbits.
Collaboration project of University of Helsinki, University of Zürich and AgroVet-Strickhof.
- Skeletal health of wild rabbits.
University of Helsinki
- Vitamin D in Spanish wild rabbits
Collaboration project of University of Helsinki, University of Zürich and Universitas autonoma de Barcelona
During the past 10 years, following research projects have been carried out by Rabbit Health Research in collaboration with different research groups:
2015:
Health survey of 167 pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Finland.
Mäkitaipale J, Harcourt-Brown F, Laitinen-Vapaavuori O. Vet Rec 2015; 177:418
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1136/vr.103213
2018:
Tibial bone density, cross-sectional geometry and strength in Finnish pet rabbits: a peripheral quantitative computed tomography study.
Mäkitaipale J, Sievänen H, Laitinen-Vapaavuori O. Vet Rec 2018; 183:382
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1136/vr.104419
Survey of welfare and housing of Finnish pet rabbits.
https://dspace.emu.ee/items/fa96e6ad-1633-4cdf-aff9-bc984b9b2e5a
2019:
Diet is a main source of vitamin D in Finnish pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Mäkitaipale J, Sievänen H, Sankari S, Laitinen-Vapaavuori O. J Anim Phys Anim Nutr 2019; 103:1564-1570
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpn.13...
Survey of health disorders in Finnish pet rabbits - questionnaire study. (Lemmikkikanien tavallisimmat terveysongelmat ja terveyskartoitus Suomessa).
2020:
Vitamin D and bone health in pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/31d9d23d-fedc-44d1...
The relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone concentration in assessing vitamin D deficiency in pet rabbits.
Mäkitaipale J, Sankari S, Sievänen H, Laitinen-Vapaavuori O. BMC Vet Res 2020; 16: 403
https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11...
Fractures among Finnish pet rabbits.
2022:
Seroprevalence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and risk-factor assessment for Encephalitozoon cuniculi seroprevalence in Finnish pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Mäkitaipale J, Järvenpää E, Bruce A, Sankari S, Virtala A-M, Näreaho A. Acta Vet Scand 2022; 64: 2
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35109904/
Prospective survey of neoplastic and non-neoplastic uterine disorders in 116 domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Mäkitaipale J, Airas N, Engblom S, Linden J. J Exotic Pet Med 2022; 41, 3-8.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
2024:
Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in southern Finland.
Mäkitaipale J, Hietanen P, Grönthal T. Acta Vet Scand 2024;
Serum vitamin D concentrations in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are more affected by UVB irradiation of food than irradiation of animals.
Mäkitaipale J, Opsomer H, Steiner R, Riond B, Liesegang A, Clauss M, Hatt J-M. Vet J 2024; 306: 106149.
2025:
The potential of an artificially ultraviolet B irradiated hay as a source of vitamin D.
Opsomer H, Clauss M, Liesegang A, Hatt J-M, Mäkitaipale J.
J Anim Phys Anim Nutr 2025: doi: 10.1111/jpn.14094
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpn.14...
Rabbit teeth serve as a calcium source for rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Mäkitaipale J, Opsomer H, Hatt J-M, Riond B, Clauss M, Liesegang A.
Vet J 2025; 309:106268.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...