This study helped narrow the search for the gene responsible for Shar-Pei fever by ruling out the gene that in humans causes Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), a similar human ailment. Shar-Pei fever, an inherited disorder in which Shar-Peis run a high fever and suffer from joint inflammation, is accompanied by kidney malfunction that can lead to kidney failure. The project sought to determine if Shar-Pei fever is a canine version of FMF and if it is caused by a mutation in the canine version of the human FMF gene. Researchers obtained blood and DNA from 23 Shar-Peis that exhibited the symptoms of Shar-Pei fever, plus 135 of their relatives. While they found important similarities between the human gene that had been determined to cause FMF and its canine counterpart, further research indicated that the canine FMF gene is not the site of the mutations responsible for Shar-Pei fever.