In a series of studies (1-3) from the University of Missouri, the activated form of vitamin D (calcitriol) was shown to reduce TNF-α (pro-inflammatory cytokine) and increase IL-10 (anti-inflammatory cytokine). These in-vitro studies examined the effect calcitriol had on cultured canine leukocytes when exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Leukocytes possess the vitamin D receptor (VDR) along […] Read more »
CRP Is Elevated In Cardiac Disease Inflammation plays a key role in a wide variety of cardiac diseases. In human medicine, the measurement of high-sensitivity CRP is used to predict the future development of heart disease (1,2). Similarly, an elevated inflammatory response (and hence CRP) is found in dogs. Researchers have documented significant elevations of CRP in […] Read more »
C-reactive protein (CRP), a general marker of the inflammatory response, correlates directly with both the severity and duration of the inflammatory stimulation. One of the strongest responses is to an infection. Two recent publications demonstrate that CRP is useful to: Detect infections 6 days post-op Differentiate suppurative arthritis and osteoarthritis Detecting Post-Op Infections Reporting sensitivity/specificity […] Read more »
Background The C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) is quickly finding ground as an outcome predictor in cancer. In both human and veterinary medicine, cancer mortality or complications arising from cancer is of major concern. In human medicine the use of CAR has been studied and found to be predictive of poor outcomes in a wide range of cancers, […] Read more »
The term “hypercalcemia of malignancy” is routinely used when calcium is elevated and PTH is below normal, and for good reason— this situation is often a result of malignant neoplasia, particularly lymphoma, anal sac adenocarcinoma, or multiple myeloma. However, many other diseases can fall into this category such as granulomatous disease, hyperthyroidism, vitamin D intoxication, and Addison’s […] Read more »
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an auto-immune disorder, is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation and can advance to protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), an often fatal disease. Dogs with IBD are often low in vitamin D stores (25VitD) due to inappetence and/or impaired absorption. Studies (1,2) have found a correlation between the level of 25VitD and the canine […] Read more »
Published in Veterinary Record (1) is an interventional study on the effects of vitamin D supplementation on dogs with atopic dermatitis. Conclusion: Oral vitamin D decreased both pruritus and also acute and chronic skin lesions in dogs with AD. The improvement in the dogs with pruritus was significantly correlated with an increase in serum 25-OH-D3 […] Read more »
Research in both human and veterinary medicine shows vitamin D to be an independent risk factor for adverse cardiac events. Two recent studies looked at the association between Vitamin D levels and Chronic Valvular Heart Disease (CVHD). Kraus, et. al., found that in dogs, low stores of 25(OH)D were associated with CVHD, as well as a 2.6 times greater hazard of having a […] Read more »
Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), a syndrome of excessive loss of protein into the lumen of the GI tract, can be associated with a wide range of serious inflammatory diseases such as neoplasia and IBD as well as less severe disorders like food responsive diarrhea (FRD). Left untreated, PLE is often fatal. In the January issue of JAVMA, […] Read more »
Immune-mediated polyarthropathy (IMPA) is a common cause of chronic relapsing fever in dogs. It is associated with significant pain, lameness, or with a stiff/stilted gait. The diagnosis and monitoring of this disease requires serial synovial fluid analyses. Recently published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine , Foster, et. al, found that CRP is useful as a […] Read more »
