Vitamin D is one of the most important yet overlooked nutrients in our pets’ diet. Raw diets, natural diets, grain-free diets, specialty diets, and the list continues, but none of them address a huge problem in their nutrition: Vitamin D levels. Here are 5 reasons why you should be testing Vitamin D levels in all […] Read more »
Background Protein-losing syndromes, specifically protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) and protein-losing nephropathy (PLN), are disease conditions when albumin and other protein-rich materials leak into the intestinal cavity or urine. Left untreated, there is a high mortality. Both PLE and PLN involve significant inflammation which is a part of the pathogenesis and treatment often includes the use of […] Read more »
Background The digestive tract is responsible for the absorption of nutrients and the elimination of waste; hence with chronic enteropathies (CE) and especially protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) these diseases can severely impact a patient’s health and may even result in death. Studies in companion animals have shown that patients with CE and PLE have low stores […] Read more »
Background Many tissues, including the heart, have vitamin D receptors that regulate gene transcription and expression including the renin-angiotensin system, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and endothelial dysfunction. In 2013, a canine study showed that 25vitD levels were low with CHF and related to prognosis (1). And in 2015, another study showed that 25vitD levels corresponded to disease […] Read more »
While many dietary vitamins are easily cleared or do not threaten toxicity in high concentrations, Vitamin D stands apart. Too little, and sufficiency is not attained; too much and the threat of toxicity triggers close patient management. Multiple factors impact the vitamin D status, which makes simple weight-based dosing ineffective. To achieve sufficiency, VDI has […] Read more »
Cobalamin (B12) and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25D) are dietary derived in both cats and dogs. Studies have shown 25D insufficiency to be a major problem in both species and worsen with age (1,2). B12 malabsorption is strongly associated with both chronic enteropathies (IBD) and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) (3,4). But is there a relationship between the two? […] Read more »
There is a growing trend for pet-owners to avoid commercial pet food in favor of a more natural homemade diet. When planning homemade diets, the balance of micronutrients, including vitamin D, should be emphasized. VDI, in conjunction with Tufts University and the University of Missouri, conducted a study looking at VitD absorption in 320 […] Read more »
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 »
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 »
Obesity impacts vitamin D equilibrium. Please review the tech brief below on how it applies to your Test & Treat patients. Contact VDI with any questions. Background: Vitamin D undergoes a series of enzymatic reactions ultimately becoming the active hormone calcitriol. However, since vitamin D is fat soluble, it is readily taken up within the adipose tissue. The adipose […] Read more »
