Exercise-induced hyperthermia syndrome (canine stress syndrome) in four related male English springer spaniels.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective study describes the signalment, clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, and mode of inheritance in four young male English springer spaniel dogs with presumptive canine stress syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Appropriate cases were located through medical searches of medical records of two large private referral centers. Inclusion criteria comprised of English springer spaniel dogs with tachypnea and hyperthermia that subsequently developed weakness or collapse, with or without signs of hemorrhage, soon after a period of mild-to-moderate exercise. The pedigrees of the four affected dogs, as well as eleven related English springer spaniels, were then analyzed to determine a presumptive mode of genetic inheritance. RESULTS: Four dogs met the inclusion criteria. All four were male, suggesting the possibility of a recessive sex-linked heritable disorder. Pedigree analysis suggests that more dogs may be potentially affected, although these dogs may have never had the concurrent triggering drug/activity/event to precipitate the clinical syndrome. There was complete resolution of clinical signs in three of the four dogs with aggressive symptomatic and supportive therapy, with one dog dying during treatment. CONCLUSION: Dogs with canine stress syndrome have the potential for rapid recovery if treated aggressively and the complications of the disease (eg, coagulopathy) are anticipated. All four dogs were male, suggesting the possibility of a recessive sex-linked mode of inheritance. Further genetic analyses should be strongly considered by those involved with the English springer spaniel breed, either with a genome-wide association study using canine single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays or whole-genome sequencing of affected and closely related dogs.

Plasma free metanephrines in healthy cats, cats with non-adrenal disease and a cat with suspected phaeochromocytoma.

Phaeochromocytomas are catecholamine-secreting tumours of the adrenal glands and are rare in cats. Plasma metanephrine levels are widely considered the diagnostic test of choice for phaeochromocytoma in people but have not been investigated in cats. In this study plasma free normetanephrine and metanephrine levels were measured using high-pressure liquid chromatography in healthy cats, sick cats with non-adrenal disease and in a cat with a suspected phaeochromocytoma. Plasma normetanephrine was significantly higher in sick cats with non-adrenal disease compared to healthy cats (P<0.05) and markedly higher in the cat with a suspected phaeochromocytoma when compared to either group. Plasma metanephrine was not significantly different in any of the groups. This study establishes a first-line guide reference range for plasma metanephrine and normetanephrine levels in healthy cats and cats with non-adrenal disease. These results provide rationale for further studies to establish the use of plasma normetanephrine levels as a potential diagnostic test for phaeochromocytoma in the cat.