Evaluation of gastrointestinal permeability and mucosal absorptive capacity in dogs with chronic enteropathy

Abstract

Results of tests for intestinal permeability and mucosal absorptive capacity were not useful indicators of clinical disease activity as assessed by the CIBDAI or the sever ity of infiltration as indicated by histologic evaluation.

Measurement of Intestinal Mucosal Permeability in Dogs with Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Enteritis

“…These results indicate that intestinal permeability tests such as the urinary L:R ratio are useful for assessing mucosal damage in LPE dogs. Recently, Allenspach et al reported that gastrointestinal permeability does not increase in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) and that there is no significant difference in permeability before and after treatment [1]. This is not in agreement with our results; one possible explanation for this discrepancy is the severity of the selected cases.…”

“…It has been reported to show good correlation with histological scoring. However, our results as well as those of previous studies demonstrate the absence of any correlation between histological evaluation and CIB-DAI in IBD dogs [1,12]. This suggests that clinical scoring systems such as CIBDAI do not always reflect the severity of intestinal damage, especially in cases of severe IBD.…”

“…In the present study, 20 of the 29 dogs showed hypoalbuminemia and hypoproteinemia. In contrast, only one dog in the study of Allenspach et al had protein-losing enteropathy and a higher L:R ratio [1]. Furthermore, in our study, the L:R ratio was significantly higher in LPE dogs with hypoalbuminemia/hypoproteinemia than in those without hypoalbuminemia/hypoproteinemia.…”

“…However, CIBDAI and pathological grading do not correlate with each other, and both indexes contain several subjective factors [1,12]. More objective clinicopathological parameters such as intestinal permeability are required to determine the disease activity and prognosis of canine IBD.…”

Apical Junction Complex Protein Expression in the Canine Colon

“…In particular, patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 10-20% of their clinically unaffected relatives have been shown to have increased intestinal permeability, implicating altered intestinal permeability in the pathogenesis of IBD (Hollander et al 1986;Katz et al 1989). Similarly, heightened paracellular permeability, as demonstrated by measurement of lactulose-to-rhamnose ratios (Quigg et al 1993;Allenspach et al 2006) and by measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (Ulrich et al 2004), has been demonstrated in some dogs with chronic idiopathic enteropathy (lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis and/or colitis) and idiopathic IBD, respectively.…”