ABSTRACT
The adrenocortical function of pomeranians and miniature poodles with alopecia was tested by serial measurements of the urinary corticoid:creatinine ratio (uccr) and by an oral low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (lddst) and uccr measurements. In most of the dogs there was day-to-day variation in the uccrs of the 10 sequential urine samples, often with values above or below the upper limit of the range of healthy control dogs. In 22 alopecic pomeranians the basal uccrs were significantly higher than in 18 non-alopecic pomeranians, and the values of both groups were significantly higher than those of 88 healthy pet dogs. The uccrs of 12 alopecic miniature poodles were significantly higher than those of healthy dogs. In 12 alopecic pomeranians and eight alopecic miniature poodles the oral lddst revealed increased resistance to dexamethasone. In six non-alopecic pomeranians the uccrs after the administration of dexamethasone were not significantly different from those in seven healthy dogs at the same time. In an oral high-dose dexamethasone suppression test, using 0.1 mg dexamethasone/kg bodyweight, the uccrs of seven alopecic pomeranians and five alopecic miniature poodles decreased to low levels.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/urine , Adrenocortical Hyperfunction/veterinary , Alopecia/veterinary , Creatinine/urine , Dog Diseases/urine , Dogs/urine , Administration, Oral , Adrenal Cortex Function Tests/veterinary , Adrenocortical Hyperfunction/diagnosis , Adrenocortical Hyperfunction/urine , Alopecia/urine , Animals , Dexamethasone/pharmacology , Dog Diseases/diagnosis , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Female , Glucocorticoids/pharmacology , MaleABSTRACT
Eleven dogs were used in a trial to find a suitable dose of dexamethasone for an oral dexamethasone suppression test for the diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism. Basal urinary corticoid:creatinine ratios were established in all 11 and then groups of seven were given oral doses of 0.02, 0.01 or 0.0075 mg dexamethasone/kg bodyweight and urine samples were collected at two-hour intervals from 08.00 to 22.00. The doses of 0.02 and 0.01 mg/kg consistently suppressed their urinary corticoid:creatinine ratios measured at 16.00 by a mean of more than 50 per cent and those of individual dogs to less than 1.0 x 10(-6), whereas the dose of 0.0075 mg/kg did not.
Subject(s)
Creatinine/urine , Dexamethasone/administration & dosage , Dogs/urine , Glucocorticoids/urine , Administration, Oral , Adrenal Cortex Function Tests/veterinary , Animals , Dexamethasone/metabolism , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Female , Glucocorticoids/administration & dosage , Male , Reference ValuesABSTRACT
From 1981 to 2001, 248 Abyssinian and 127 Somali cats in the Netherlands were examined for hereditary eye disease. Distinct ophthalmoscopic signs consistent with hereditary progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) were observed in 11 Abyssinian cats, and subtle signs in 3 Abyssinian cats. A familial relationship was detected in 13 out of 14 of these cats, which supports a hereditary basis to the condition. Distinct funduscopic signs of retinal degeneration were observed at a median age of 4 years. One cat with advanced retinal degeneration was only 7 months old, whereas the remaining 10 cats were between 2 and 12 years old at the time of diagnosis. These differences in the age of onset are suggestive of at least two types of PRA occurring in Abyssinian cats in the Netherlands: a dysplastic, early-onset and a late-onset retinal degeneration. A large-scale and systematic examination programme for hereditary eye disease will be necessary to assess the incidence of PRA in the Dutch population of Abyssinian and Somali cats as a whole, and to provide a basis for a preventive breeding programme.
