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Cats with gastrointestinal tract disease may have abnormalities in amino acid metabolism consistent with cobalamin deficiency. Parenteral administration of cobalamin may be necessary to correct these biochemical abnormalities.

Background: Adult dogs with degenerative myelopathy (DM) have progressive ataxia and paresis of the pelvic limbs, leading to paraplegia and euthanasia. Although most commonly reported in German Shepherd dogs, high disease prevalence exists in other breeds.Objective: Our aim was the clinical and histopathologic characterization of familial degenerative myelopathy (FDM) in Pembroke Welsh Corgi (PWC) dogs.Animals: Twenty-one PWCs were prospectively studied from initial diagnosis until euthanasia. Methods: Neurologic examination, blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, electrodiagnostic testing, and spinal imaging were performed. Concentrations of 8-iso-prostaglandin F 2 a (8-isoprostane) were measured in CSF. Routine histochemistry was used for neuropathology. Deoxyribonucleic acid and pedigrees were collected from 110 dogs.Results: Median duration of clinical signs before euthanasia was 19 months. Median age at euthanasia was 13 years. All dogs were nonambulatory paraparetic or paraplegic, and 15 dogs had thoracic limb weakness at euthanasia. Electrodiagnostic testing and spinal imaging were consistent with noncompressive myelopathy. No significant difference was detected in 8-isoprostane concentrations between normal and FDM-affected dogs. Axonal and myelin degeneration of the spinal cord was most severe in the dorsal portion of the lateral funiculus. Pedigree analysis suggested a familial disease.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Clinical progression of FDM in PWC dogs was similar to that observed in other breeds but characterized by a longer duration. Spinal cord pathology predominates as noninflammatory axonal degeneration. Oxidative stress injury associated with 8-isoprostane production is not involved in the pathogenesis of FDM-affected PWC dogs. A familial disease is suspected.

Fourteen dogs had shown chronic or intermittent diarrhea for more than 1 year. Diarrhea had been successfully treated with tylosin for at least 6 months but recurred when treatment was withdrawn on at least 2 occasions. Tylosin-responsive diarrhea (TRD) affects typically middle-aged, large-breed dogs and clinical signs indicate that TRD affects both the small and large intestine. Treatment with tylosin eliminated diarrhea in all dogs within 3 days and in most dogs within 24 hours. Tylosin administration controlled diarrhea in all dogs, but after it was discontinued, diarrhea reappeared in 12 (85.7%) of 14 dogs within 30 days. Prednisone given for 3 days did not completely resolve diarrhea. Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG did not prevent the relapse of diarrhea in any of 9 dogs so treated. The etiology of TRD, a likely form of antibiotic-responsive diarrhea (ARD) is unclear. The following reasons for chronic diarrhea were excluded or found to be unlikely: parasites, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory bowel disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, enteropathogenic bacteria (Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Yersinia spp., or Lawsoni intracellularis), and Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin and Clostridium difficile A toxin. A possible etiologic factor is a specific enteropathogenic organism that is a common resident in the canine gastrointestinal tract and is sensitive to tylosin but difficult to eradicate. Additional studies are required to identify the specific cause of TRD.

Few studies of the prevalence of histologic lesions of the exocrine pancreas in dogs have been reported, and none of them systematically evaluate the localization of these lesions. The purpose of this study was to describe the anatomic localization of pancreatic inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis in dogs presented for postmortem examination. Seventy-three pancreata from dogs presented for postmortem examination were evaluated and investigated for the presence of suppurative inflammation (SI), pancreatic necrosis (PN), and lymphocytic inflammation (LI). Sections that showed evidence of SI, PN, or LI also were evaluated for pancreatic fibrosis (F). The tendency for a preferred localization for SI, PN, and LI was evaluated by chi-square analysis. A total of 47 pancreata with histologic evidence of pancreatitis (SI, PN, or LI; F alone was not considered evidence of pancreatitis) were identified. Twenty-four (51.1%) had SI, 23 (48.9%) had PN, and 34 (72.3%) had LI. Of the 47 dogs with SI, PN, or LI, 28 (59.6%) had F. The distribution of SI, PN, and LI between the right and the left limb of the pancreas and among the 5 anatomic regions was random, based on a goodness-of-fit test. We conclude that pancreatic inflammation tends to occur in discrete areas within the pancreas rather than diffusely throughout the whole organ. These findings suggest that a single biopsy is insufficient to exclude subclinical pancreatitis and that there is no preferred site for pancreatic biopsy collection unless gross lesions are apparent.

Few studies of the prevalence of histologic lesions of the exocrine pancreas in dogs have been reported, and none of them systematically evaluate the localization of these lesions. The purpose of this study was to describe the anatomic localization of pancreatic inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis in dogs presented for postmortem examination. Seventy-three pancreata from dogs presented for postmortem examination were evaluated and investigated for the presence of suppurative inflammation (SI), pancreatic necrosis (PN), and lymphocytic inflammation (LI). Sections that showed evidence of SI, PN, or LI also were evaluated for pancreatic fibrosis (F). The tendency for a preferred localization for SI, PN, and LI was evaluated by chi-square analysis. A total of 47 pancreata with histologic evidence of pancreatitis (SI, PN, or LI; F alone was not considered evidence of pancreatitis) were identified. Twenty-four (51.1%) had SI, 23 (48.9%) had PN, and 34 (72.3%) had LI. Of the 47 dogs with SI, PN, or LI, 28 (59.6%) had F. The distribution of SI, PN, and LI between the right and the left limb of the pancreas and among the 5 anatomic regions was random, based on a goodness-of-fit test. We conclude that pancreatic inflammation tends to occur in discrete areas within the pancreas rather than diffusely throughout the whole organ. These findings suggest that a single biopsy is insufficient to exclude subclinical pancreatitis and that there is no preferred site for pancreatic biopsy collection unless gross lesions are apparent.

Domestic cats with small intestinal disease may develop cobalamin deficiency because of reduced small intestinal uptake of this vitamin. This study assessed the impact of cobalamin deficiency on biochemical and clinical findings in cats with intestinal disease. Nineteen pet cats, all with severe hypocobalaminemia (< or =100 ng/L) and histories of gastrointestinal signs, were studied. Cats received cobalamin, 250 microg SC once weekly, for 4 weeks. Biochemical indices of cobalamin availability (e.g., serum methylmalonic acid, homocysteine, and cysteine concentrations), serum feline trypsinlike immunoreactivity (fTLI) and serum folate concentrations, and clinical findings were recorded at the start of the study and after 4 weeks of cobalamin therapy. Serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations (median; range) decreased after cobalamin supplementation (5373.0; 708.5-29,329.0 versus 423.5; 214.0-7219.0 nmol/L, P < .0001). Serum homocysteine concentrations were not significantly altered (mean +/- SD 8.2 +/- 2.9 versus 10.3 +/- 4.5 micromol/L, P = .1198), whereas cysteine concentrations increased significantly (122.3 +/- 38.8 versus 191.5 +/- 29.4 micromol/L, P < .0001). Mean body weight increased significantly after cobalamin therapy (3.8 +/- 1.1 versus 4.1 +/- 1 kg, P < .01), and the average body weight gain was 8.2%. Significant linear relationships were observed between alterations in serum MMA and fTLI concentrations and the percentage body weight change (P < .05 for both, Pearson r2 = 0.26 and 0.245, respectively). Mean serum folate concentration decreased significantly (mean +/- SD 19 +/- 5 microg/L versus 15.4 +/- 6.2 microg/L, P < .001). Reduced vomiting and diarrhea were observed in 7 of 9 and 5 of 13 cats, respectively. These results suggest that cobalamin supplementation in cats with small intestinal disease and severe hypocobalaminemia is associated with normalization of biochemical test results and improvements in clinical findings in most affected cats.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) and specific canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (Spec cPL) are biomarkers of generalized or nonspecific inflammation and pancreatic inflammation in dogs, respectively. The extent of inter-and intraindividual variation over time of these analytes is not well defined in dogs. The minimal critical difference for sequential determinations of these markers (ie, the smallest change necessary to represent physiological change rather than biological variation), has not been defined.Objectives: To determine the inter-and intraindividual variability (CV G and CV I ) and minimal critical difference for sequential determinations of serum CRP and Spec cPL concentrations in apparently healthy dogs.Animals: Eleven apparently healthy dogs owned by staff or students at a veterinary teaching hospital.Methods: Blood was collected repeatedly at varying intervals over 12 weeks. CRP and Spec cPL concentrations were determined with commercially available assays. Indices of inter-, intraindividual, and assay variability and 1-sided minimal critical differences for sequential concentrations were calculated.Results: For CRP, CV G was 90.8%, CV I was 115.5%, and the analytical variability (CV A ) was 6.3%; the index of individuality was 0.78, and 1-sided critical difference was 269. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: A population-based reference range is appropriate for Spec cPL, but questionable for CRP in dogs. Large changes in serial measurements of Spec cPL are necessary to infer clinical importance, more modest changes in CRP are likely to be meaningful.