Hyperadrenocorticism is a frequent disease in dogs. The excess of circulating cortisol affects different organs and metabolic pathways, producing severe adverse effects that endanger the animal’s life. Among these effects, hypertension and renal damage can be mentioned. A group of 20 dogs with pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH) and 12 control dogs were used to study the following parameters: cortisol and nitric oxide (NO nit/nit) concentrations, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, renal artery resistance index by Doppler ultrasound, the rate of glomerular filtration by radio-renogram excretion and the presence of proteins in urine. Dogs with PDH showed a significantly lower NO nit/nit (P<0.0001) than the controls and this correlated with high values of diastolic and systolic pressure (r = -0.87; P<0.0001 and r = -0.81; P<0.0001 respectively). Most dogs (80%) are hypertensive mainly due to an increase in diastolic pressure, which correlated positively with the UPC (r = 0.8; P<0.001) and negatively with the glomerular rate of filtration (r = -0.58; P=0.007). Systolic pressure only increased in 60% of the cases and did not correlate with the mentioned variables. In PDH the decrease of NO affects blood pressure. The diastolic pressure would seem to have the greatest impact on the kidneys, therefore its evaluation and control are important to avoid and/or control renal damage.

Case summary Three diabetic cats presented with polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia and poor glycemic control. Cat 1 displayed prognathia inferior and had a body condition score (BCS) of 4/5; cat 2 had a BCS of 5/5; and cat 3 had broad facial features. Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 concentrations were compatible with hypersomatotropism in cat 1 and cat 2 (>1500 ng/ml and 1200 ng/ml, respectively) and just below the cut-off of 1000 ng/ml (947 ng/ml) in cat 3; in this last cat diagnosis was further supported by the presence of pituitary enlargement on MRI. Oral cabergoline (10 μg/kg q48h) was initiated. Insulin requirements progressively reduced, as evidenced by daily blood glucose monitoring and weekly blood glucose curves. Diabetic remission occurred in all three cats between the second and third months of cabergoline treatment. At the time of writing, remission has persisted thus far (cat 1: 23 months; cat 2: 14 months; cat 3: 38 months). Relevance and novel information To our knowledge, these are the first reported cases of diabetic remission in cats with hypersomatotropism after cabergoline treatment, despite previous reports of this being an ineffective treatment. Further work is indicated to determine why some cats do, and others do not, respond to this treatment.

The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of isotretinoin 9-cis (RA9-cis) as a post-surgery treatment of thyroid carcinoma to a traditional treatment (doxorubicin) and no treatment. Owners who did not want their dogs to receive treatment were placed into the control group A (GA; n=10). The remaining dogs were randomly placed into either group B (GB; n=12) and received doxorubicin at a dose of 30 mg/m 2 every three weeks, for six complete cycles or group C (GC; n=15) and treated with RA9-cis at a dose of 2 mg/kg/day for 6 months. The time of the recurrence was significantly shorter in the GA and GB compared to GC (P=0.0007; P=0.0015 respectively), while we did not detect differences between GA and GB. The hazard ratio of recurrence between GA and GB compared to GC were 7.25 and 5.60 times shorter, respectively. We did not detect any differences between the other groups. The risk ratio of recurrence was 2.0 times higher in GA compared to GC and 2.1 times higher in GB compared to GC. The type of carcinoma had an effect on time of survival with follicular carcinomas having an increased mean survival time than follicular-compact carcinomas (P<0.0001) and follicular-compact carcinomas had a longer mean survival time than compact carcinomas. The interaction among treatment and type was significant, but survival time in follicular carcinomas did not differ between treatments. In follicular-compact carcinomas the survival time of GC was greater than GB (P<0.05), but we did not detect a difference between GA and GB. In conclusion, this study shows that the use of surgery in combination with RA9-cis treatment significantly increases survival rate and decreases the time to tumor recurrence when compared to doxorubicin treated or untreated dogs. The histological type of carcinoma interacted with treatment for time to recurrence and survival time, with more undifferentiated carcinomas having a worse prognosis than differentiated carcinomas.

No abstract

No abstract