Top Endocrine Publications of 2011: Canine & Feline Parathyroid & Calcium Disorders

In my fourth compilation of the canine and feline endocrine publications of 2011, I’m moving on to disorders of the parathyroid gland, including the clinical problems of hypercalcemia and hypocalcemia.

Listed below are 20 research papers written in 2011 that deal with a variety of topics and issues related to calcium, parathyroid or vitamin D metabolism.

These range from the hypercalcemia of malignancy (4,14,17,18) to metabolic causes of seizures (1); from calcium oxalate stones (2,6,15) to idiopathic hypercalcemia in cats (10); from hypercalcemia and soft tissue mineralization associated with Heterobilharzia americana infection, the causative agent of canine schistosomiasis (3,10) to
hypercalcemia causes by blastomycosis in a cat (19); and from surgical hypoparathyroidism (5) to ionized hypocalcemia in dogs following trauma (11).

Other papers discuss clinical issue ranging from hypercalcemia associated with canine hypothyroidism (12) to treatment of rickets in a cat (13); from a study of hypovitaminosis D in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (8) to a review of osteocalcin, a hormone secreted by osteoblasts that may play an important role in energy metabolism (7).

References:

1. Brauer C, Jambroszyk M, Tipold A. Metabolic and toxic causes of canine seizure disorders: A retrospective study of 96 cases. Vet J 2011;187:272-275. 
2. Buckley CM, Hawthorne A, Colyer A, et al. Effect of dietary water intake on urinary output, specific gravity and relative supersaturation for calcium oxalate and struvite in the cat. Br J Nutr 2011;106 Suppl 1:S128-130.
3. Corapi WV, Ajithdoss DK, Snowden KF, et al. Multi-organ involvement of Heterobilharzia americana infection in a dog presented for systemic mineralization. J Vet Diagn Invest 2011;23:826-831. 
4. Dank G, Rassnick KM, Kristal O, et al. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome of dogs with presumed primary hepatic lymphoma: 18 cases (1992-2008). J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011;239:966-971. 
5. de Brito Galvao JF, Chew DJ. Metabolic complications of endocrine surgery in companion animals. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2011;41:847-868. 
6. Dijcker JC, Plantinga EA, van Baal J, et al. Influence of nutrition on feline calcium oxalate urolithiasis with emphasis on endogenous oxalate synthesis. Nutr Res Rev 2011:1-15. 
7. Fernandez-Real JM, Ricart W. Osteocalcin: a new link between bone and energy metabolism. Some evolutionary clues. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2011;14:360-366. 
8. Gow AG, Else R, Evans H, et al. Hypovitaminosis D in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease and hypoalbuminaemia. J Small Anim Pract 2011;52:411-418. 
9. Graves TK. When normal is abnormal: keys to laboratory diagnosis of hidden endocrine disease. Top Companion Anim Med 2011;26:45-51. 
10. Hanzlicek AS, Harkin KR, Dryden MW, et al. Canine schistosomiasis in Kansas: five cases (2000-2009). J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2011;47:e95-e102. 
11. Holowaychuk MK, Monteith G. Ionized hypocalcemia as a prognostic indicator in dogs following trauma. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio) 2011;21:521-530. 
12. Lobetti RG. Hypercalcaemia in a dog with primary hypothyroidism. J S Afr Vet Assoc 2011;82:242-243. 
13. MacKenzie JM, Crawford J, Ghantous S. Successful therapy of vitamin D-dependant rickets in a kitten. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2011;47:290-293. 
14. Marconato L, Stefanello D, Valenti P, et al. Predictors of long-term survival in dogs with high-grade multicentric lymphoma. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011;238:480-485. 
15. Palm C, Westropp J. Cats and calcium oxalate: strategies for managing lower and upper tract stone disease. J Feline Med Surg 2011;13:651-660. 
16. Phillips AM, Fawcett AC, Allan GS, et al. Vitamin D-dependent non-type 1, non-type 2 rickets in a 3-month-old Cornish Rex kitten. J Feline Med Surg 2011;13:526-531. 
17. Rebhun RB, Kent MS, Borrofka SA, et al. CHOP chemotherapy for the treatment of canine multicentric T-cell lymphoma. Vet Comp Oncol 2011;9:38-44. 
18. Saba C, Ellis A, Cornell K. Hypocalcemia following surgical treatment of metastatic anal sac adenocarcinoma in a dog. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2011;47:e173-177. 
19. Stern JA, Chew DJ, Schissler JR, et al. Cutaneous and systemic blastomycosis, hypercalcemia, and excess synthesis of calcitriol in a domestic shorthair cat. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2011;47:e116-120. 
20. Whitney JL, Barrs VR, Wilkinson MR, et al. Use of bisphosphonates to treat severe idiopathic hypercalcaemia in a young Ragdoll cat. J Feline Med Surg 2011;13:129-134.