ZAGREB, 16 April 2026 (Hina) – Zagreb’s Dubrava Clinical Hospital has become the first hospital in Croatia to introduce a new diagnostic method “mitochondrial genome analysis“ which could help identify the causes of difficult-to-diagnose diseases, the hospital said on Thursday.

The advanced genetic test is the first systematic analysis of mitochondrial DNA within Croatia’s public healthcare system. Mitochondria, key cellular structures responsible for energy production and metabolic regulation, play a central role in the functioning of nearly all tissues and organs.

The hospital said the introduction of the method represents a significant step forward in precision and personalised medicine, enabling earlier and more accurate diagnosis of a range of diseases.

Mitochondrial disorders can affect multiple systems, causing neurological, muscular, metabolic and cardiac conditions, as well as complex syndromes that often remain undiagnosed.

Unlike standard genetic tests, which primarily focus on nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA has so far been insufficiently covered in diagnostic practice, the hospital added.

The service is carried out within the hospital’s Department for Scientific Research and Translational Medicine, as part of a new unit for regenerative and systemic biomedicine linking research and clinical practice.

It is available to patients on referral, with indications set by specialist doctors and processing conducted by general practitioners in line with procedures of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).

The hospital said the development further strengthens modern diagnostic approaches and improves the quality of healthcare services.