For my next review of the endocrine publications of 2014 that concern companion animals, I'm going to turn to the theme of diagnosis and treatment of pituitary problems in dogs and cats. Listed below are 18 clinical and research papers written in 2014 that deal with a variety of pituitary gland issues of clinical importance in dogs and cats.
These range from case studies of cats with primary hypodipsia and inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (1,2) to an investigation of the clinical utility of formulas of estimated serum osmolality (3); from a study of acromegaly in a series German shepherd dogs (4) to a number of excellent studies of the clinical features, diagnosis, or treatment of feline acromegaly (8,9,13,15); and from investigation of the stress response in dogs (5,14) to a study of the intraoperative changes of circulating vasopressin during elective ovariohysterectomy in dogs (6).
Other publications include a study investigating the problems associated with commercial assays for determination of feline ACTH (7) to a review of the use of GnRH agonists in dogs and cats (10); from a report of a transsphenoidal surgical technique for removal of pituitary adenomas in dogs with pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease (11) to a review of the role of prolactin in canine mammary tumor development (12); and finally, from a report of the clinical findings, diagnostic test results, and treatment outcome of 30 cats with spontaneous Cushing's disease (16) to an investigation of the mutations associated with pituitary dwarfism in Saarloos and Czechoslovakian wolfdogs (18).
- Bach J, Claus K. Primary hypodipsia in a cat with severe hypernatremia. J Feline Med Surg 2014;16:240-242.
- Demonaco SM, Koch MW, Southard TL. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion in a cat with a putative Rathke's cleft cyst. J Feline Med Surg 2014;16:1010-1015.
- Dugger DT, Epstein SE, Hopper K, et al. A comparison of the clinical utility of several published formulae for estimated osmolality of canine serum. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio) 2014;24:188-193.
- Fracassi F, Zagnoli L, Rosenberg D, et al. Spontaneous acromegaly: a retrospective case control study in German shepherd dogs. Vet J 2014;202:69-75.
- Hekman JP, Karas AZ, Sharp CR. Psychogenic stress in hospitalized dogs: cross species comparisons, implications for health care, and the challenges of evaluation. Animals (Basel) 2014;4:331-347.
- Hoglund OV, Hagman R, Olsson K, et al. Intraoperative changes in blood pressure, heart rate, plasma vasopressin, and urinary noradrenalin during elective ovariohysterectomy in dogs: repeatability at removal of the 1st and 2nd ovary. Vet Surg 2014;43:852-859.
- Kemppainen RJ. Amino acid differences in cat adrenocorticotropin account for the inability of a human-based immunoradiometric assay to detect the molecule in cat plasma. J Vet Diagn Invest 2014;26:431-433.
- Lamb CR, Ciasca TC, Mantis P, et al. Computed tomographic signs of acromegaly in 68 diabetic cats with hypersomatotropism. J Feline Med Surg 2014;16:99-108.
- Lourenco BN, Randall E, Seiler G, et al. Abdominal ultrasonographic findings in acromegalic cats. J Feline Med Surg 2014.
- Lucas X. Clinical use of deslorelin (GnRH agonist) in companion animals: a review. Reprod Domest Anim 2014;49 Suppl 4:64-71.
- Mamelak AN, Owen TJ, Bruyette D. Transsphenoidal surgery using a high definition video telescope for pituitary adenomas in dogs with pituitary dependent hypercortisolism: methods and results. Vet Surg 2014;43:369-379.
- Michel E, Rohrer Bley C, Kowalewski MP, et al. Prolactin--to be reconsidered in canine mammary tumourigenesis? Vet Comp Oncol 2014;12:93-105.
- Myers JA, Lunn KF, Bright JM. Echocardiographic findings in 11 cats with acromegaly. J Vet Intern Med 2014;28:1235-1238.
- Nagasawa M, Shibata Y, Yonezawa A, et al. The behavioral and endocrinological development of stress response in dogs. Dev Psychobiol 2014;56:726-733.
- Rosca M, Forcada Y, Solcan G, et al. Screening diabetic cats for hypersomatotropism: performance of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for insulin-like growth factor 1. J Feline Med Surg 2014;16:82-88.
- Valentin SY, Cortright CC, Nelson RW, et al. Clinical findings, diagnostic test results, and treatment outcome in cats with spontaneous hyperadrenocorticism: 30 cases. J Vet Intern Med 2014;28:481-487.
- van Rijn SJ, Riemers FM, van den Heuvel D, et al. Expression stability of reference genes for quantitative RT-PCR of healthy and diseased pituitary tissue samples varies between humans, mice, and dogs. Mol Neurobiol 2014;49:893-899.
- Voorbij AM, Leegwater PA, Kooistra HS. Pituitary dwarfism in Saarloos and Czechoslovakian wolfdogs is associated with a mutation in LHX3. J Vet Intern Med 2014;28:1770-1774.
I was hoping you could help me sort out a question regarding ACTH stim testing. I have an 8 and a half month old female Pudelpointer puppy who developed diarrhea and inappetance 2 weeks ago. She has already lost 20% of her body weight (41 to 33 lb) and continues to not want to eat. Electrolyte panel has been normal twice, and stool studies for parasites negative. She is no better after metronidazole and fenbendazole. Testing for pancreatitis was negative. She is bradycardic with a resting HR in the low 50's. ACTH stim test showed a resting AM fasting cortisol of 0.9 and a post-stim cortisol of >10. She has only been ill for 2 weeks. Could the low baseline cortisol be an indicator of ACTH deficiency and secondary Addison's? I know the stim test was normal, but couldn't the adrendals still stim normally if the dog has only been ill for a few weeks?
ReplyDeleteBottom line is no- the adrenal reserve would decrease before the basal cortisol secretion fell.
ReplyDeleteThis dog doesn't have Addison's.
Hi Doctor Peterson.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have your insight with regard to our sweet 15 year old cat. He was treated locally with radioactive therapy for his hyperthyroidism. His health was excellent before treatment. However he was a little overweight. He's been on a strict protein, low fat, no carb diet. His hyperthyroidism was cured. Thank God. Something curious happened at the 6 month point. Note: His weight never exceeded 19 lbs. Over a couple of weeks, his weight shot up to 24 and half lbs, he started drinking often and urinating several times a day. We had his chem panel taken and his glucose went up by over 300 points since the last test. His other numbers don't indicate diabetes. Our vet said this could be stess-induced hyperglycimia and to retest him in a couple of weeks. We are awaiting a glucose test of his urine that we free caught at home (hoping for a stress free reading). We've educated ourselves on diabetes and will include a fructosamine test. Amaziningly, the cat improved overnight. He has energy, he is not demanding water and his urine output is normal. Question: is this something you've seen in your practice working with thousands of cats? Since it's been only 6 months since he underwent the therapy, is his body still adusting/reacting to the radioactive iodine? Thank you for your antipacted very kind attention to my question.
Yes, it can take a few months for the full effect of hyperthyroid tests to take its full effect.
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. Peterson,
ReplyDeleteMy 14 1/2 year old male cat was diagnosed with a pituitary macroadenoma 7 months ago, (up until this time he had never been sick). I took him for radiation treatments, several of his neurologic problems have diminished significantly. He recently had another MRI and he still has otitis media/interna in his right ear, mild fluid in left ear and the tumor is still very large and may have grown. I may have the option to have his pituitary removed, my question is would I be trading in one severe health problem for several others? He's not diabetic, no thyroid problem and all other organs are functioning very well. He eats a raw diet and his weight is normal. Thank you for your time!
If the tumor is that large, it's going to be impossible to remove the whole tumor without causing big problems. Talk to your vet about what you should do.
ReplyDeleteHis neurologist is seeking advice from the University, but I think you may have answered the question for me. Thank you for your time!!
ReplyDelete