LIVER DISEASE IN DOGS

LIVER DISEASE IN DOGS



The liver performs numerous important functions for your dog's body, including the filtering of toxins from the bloodstream. Because the liver works to rid the body of so many different substances, it is susceptible to damage from many different sources.

Liver disease can be caused by:
  • Viral and bacterial infections
  • Poisonous substances your dog has eaten
  • Altered blood flow to the liver due to heart disease or other congenital abnormality
  • Your dog's breed - certain breeds, such as Bedlingtons and West Highland white terriers, have difficulty excreting copper

Check your dog for the following signs of liver disease:

  • Loss in appetite
  • Sudden weight loss
  • Lack of energy or depression
  • Jaundice (yellowing of the gums, whites of the eyes or skin)

Other possible signs of liver disorders include dark-coloured urine, pale gums or a build up of fluid in the abdomen that could be mistaken for sudden weight gain. Your veterinarian can administer other tests to diagnose liver disease.

For an accurate diagnosis and treatment options, always consult your veterinarian.

 

Liver Disease



INTRODUCTION
Liver disease is the catch-all term that is applied to any medical disorder affecting the liver and usually causing elevated blood levels of liver enzymes.

Liver disease can be divided into both acute (more common) and chronic liver disease. Causes of acute liver disease include: toxins such as acetominophen (TylenolR,) RimadylR, ValiumR, tetracycline, and sulfa drugs; hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease, one of the more common liver diseases in cats;) trauma; heatstroke; and infections (canine infectious hepatitis, feline cholangiohepatitis.) Causes of chronic liver disease include: genetics, infections (canine infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis,) toxins (anticonvulsants, RimadylR,) and idiopathic hepatitis, whose cause is unknown.

Clinical signs of liver disease include lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, increased thirst, increased urination, lethargy, jaundice, and in severe cases, seizures.

Liver disease is diagnosed by blood and urine tests, abdominal radiographs (X-rays,) and abdominal ultrasound. Liver biopsy is needed to determine the cause of liver disease.

CONVENTIONAL THERAPY
Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for liver disease in dogs and cats, unless a specific toxin is identified. Supportive care include intravenous fluids and force feeding (force feeding is the treatment of choice for cats with hepatic lipidosis; feeding usually requires feeding through a gastrotomy (stomach) tube for 2-3 months.) Antibiotics and/or corticosteroids may be indicated in infectious conditions such as feline cholangiohepatitis. As a result, turning to complementary therapy is the only good way to help the liver heal in pets with liver disease.

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
As is true with many medical disorders, dietary therapy is important in the treatment of the pet with liver disease. High quality and highly digestible carbohydrates are recommended to supply energy for the pet. Inferior types of carbohydrates that are undigested are fermented by intestinal bacteria which increases the bacteria in the colon; these bacteria then break down dietary proteins and produce extra ammonia, which is absorbed into the body and contributes to toxicity in pets with liver disease. Frequent feedings of high quality simple carbohydrates such as white rice and potatos are recommended. Vegetables act as a source of complex carbohydrates and provide fiber; the fiber helps bind intestinal toxins and promotes bowel movements to remove these toxins (by-products of protein digestion and bacterial fermentation of undigested foods) from the body.

Proteins provided by the diet must be of high biological value to reduce the production of ammonia, a by-product of protein digestion. Most commercial foods contain proteins that are not of high biological value. (Many commercial foods may also contain excess vitamin A, copper, and bacterial endotoxins, all of which contribute to the clinical signs in pets with liver disease.) Unless your doctor recommends protein restriction (usually only needed by pets with encephalopathy, a condition producing neurological signs in pets with severe liver disease,) normal amounts of protein should be fed as protein is needed by the liver during repair. 






RESEARCH STUDIES
Studies show that dogs with liver disease fed diets containing meat-based proteins have shorter survival times and more severe clinical signs than dogs with liver disease fed milk-based or soy-based protein diets. Cats require higher protein diets than dogs. While it may be more beneficial to cats to also feed them diets based on milk-based or soy-based proteins, most cats prefer meat-based diets. Cats fed milk-based or soy-based proteins must have supplemental taurine (100-200 mg/day,) as milk has minimal taurine and soy (tofu) has no taurine.

Often force feeding of pets with liver disease is needed, as many pets develop anorexia (refuse to eat.) For example, cats with hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) often refuse to eat. Force feeding these cats is essential to help heal the liver and correct the underlying problem.

SUPPLEMENTS
Milk thistle is the most well known herb recommended for treating liver disease. Its silymarin content has been shown effective in treating liver disease. Milk thistle compounds are usually standardized to 70-80% silymarin. Milk thistle is one of the few herbs that have no real equivalent in the world of conventional medicine. 

The active ingredients in milk thistle appear to be four substances known collectively as silymarin, of which the most potent is named silibinin. Animal studies suggest that milk thistle extracts can protect against many other poisonous substances, from toluene to the drug acetaminophen. 

Silymarin appears to function by displacing toxins trying to bind to the liver as well as by causing the liver to regenerate more quickly. It also acts as an antioxidant by scavenging free radicals (it is more potent than vitamin E,) increasing glutathione levels, and by inhibiting the formation of damaging leukotrienes. Silymarin also stimulates the production of new liver cells, replacing the damaged cells.

Due to its liver support, milk thistle is often used anytime the pet becomes ill or toxic to support the liver. It can also be used anytime drugs are given to the pet that could be toxic to the liver, especially chemotherapy medicines for treating cancer, heartworm treatment medications, and long-term use of other medications (such as antibiotics and corticosteroids.)

A new form of silymarin, in which the compound is bound to phosphatidylcholine, has been shown to have greater bioavailability than unbound silymarin.

The standard dosage of milk thistle is 200 mg 2 to 3 times a day. In people, the best results are seen at higher doses (140-200 mg three times daily of an extract standardized to contain 70% silymarin;) the bound form is dosed at 100-200 mg twice daily.

On the basis of its extensive use as a food, milk thistle is believed to be safe for pregnant or nursing women and researchers have enrolled pregnant women in studies. However, safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, and individuals with severe renal disease has not been formally established. Similar precautions in pets are probably warranted.

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS
While milk thistle is most commonly used for treating liver disease, other nutrients such as choline, carnitine, arginine, boswellia, burdock, dandelion root, licorice, nettle, Oregon grape, red clover, turmeric, yellow dock, and maitake mushrooms may also be incorporated into the treatment regimen.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM
Author, The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats and 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog
Web Site

 

DIAGNOSING LIVER DISEASE IN DOGS
What do the Tests Really Mean?
Jill Maddison Australia

Liver disease can be frustrating to diagnose. Although in the dog (in contrast to the cat), it is uncommon for a patient to have normal clinical pathology values in the presence of significant liver disease, enzymology and other clinical pathology tests rarely indicate the type of liver pathology present. In addition, even liver “specific” enzymes such as ALT can be increased in non-primary hepatic disease and care must be taken in interpreting slight or even moderate increases. This lecture will focus on the tests that may be utilised in the diagnosis of liver disease and the non-hepatic causes for changes in these tests that the clinician should be aware of when interpreting clinical pathology results.

Diagnostic tests

Liver enzymology

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT, formerly SGPT). ALT is a liver specific enzyme in the dog and cat. The highest cellular concentrations occur in the cytosol therefore the enzyme is released following severe, acute and diffuse hepatocellular necrosis. In general, serum levels are not regarded as significant unless they are two to three times above normal. Mild-moderate increases in ALT (up to four to five times normal) may occur with non-hepatic disorders such as inflammatory GI disease, cardiac failure and haemolytic anaemia.

The serum half-life of ALT is less than 24 hours. Levels peak two to three days after hepatic insult and return to normal in one to three weeks if hepatic insult resolves. A persistent increase indicates continuing hepatocellular insult. ALT levels may also be moderately increased in animals on anticonvulsant therapy and glucocorticoids and with biliary stasis.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP). ALP is bound to membranes of bile canaliculi and bile ducts. Values are increased by any condition causing cholestasis, either intra- or extra-hepatic. Cholestasis results in increased synthesis and regurgitation of the enzyme from the biliary system into the serum.

Isoenzymes. Other isoenzymes of ALP are also found in bone, intestine, kidney tubules and the placenta. However, the half-life of the intestinal, renal and placental isoenzymes are so short (two to six minutes) that serum elevations of ALP would rarely occur from these organs. Usually an elevation in ALP is due to hepatic or bone isoenzymes. However, exogenous and endogenous glucocorticoids can induce a specific isoenzyme and thus result in elevated serum levels in the dog (but not in the cat). The value in measuring the ALP isoenzyme in the diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism is highly questionable as the isoenzyme is increased by hepatic pathology as well as hyperadrenocorticism.

ALP levels will be increased in young growing animals (bone isoenzyme) and in destructive bone disease. ALP is also increased in certain carcinomas and mammary gland tumours, and with anticonvulsant therapy in dogs, but not cats.

ALT vs. ALP—does their relative increases help determine the location of liver pathology (intra- or extra-hepatic)?

alt Serum enzymology is not particularly helpful in determining whether an animal has hepatic or post-hepatic disease. Post-hepatic obstruction of the biliary tract almost invariably causes secondary hepatocellular damage and hence both ALT and ALP will be elevated. ALP is elevated by both intra- and extra-hepatic cholestasis thus is increased in hepatic and post-hepatic disease.

alt The relative degree of increase of each enzyme is also not helpful; in fact, if ALP is substantially increased and ALT normal or only slightly increased, non-hepatic disease such as hyperadrenocorticism or exogenous corticosteroid administration is more likely to be present.

alt It is important to be aware that serum enzymes are not liver function tests and there is no correlation between the magnitude of the enzyme increase and the severity or reversibility of the condition. Occasionally, cases of severe liver dysfunction, e.g., biliary cirrhosis, neoplasia or portacaval shunt, may be associated with minimal or no increases in serum enzymes.

Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). GGT levels are increased in most conditions that cause elevation in ALP, i.e., cholestasis, glucocorticoid therapy, hyperadrenocorticism. However, unlike ALP, GGT is not elevated with increased osteoblastic activity (e.g., growing dogs) and may not be elevated in dogs on anticonvulsant medication. ALP is slightly more sensitive than GGT for detection of cholestatic disease in dogs

Serum protein

Serum albumin. Albumin is synthesised only in the liver. A loss of greater than 70% of liver function is required before hypoalbuminaemia occurs. Hypoalbuminaemia most commonly occurs in cirrhosis and portosystemic encephalopathy but will also occur in severe diffuse necrosis. Albumin concentrations may also be decreased in renal and gut disease, severe cutaneous burns, protein malnutrition, in the presence of acute phase reactants, and in patients with exudative effusions (which cause sequestration of albumin).

Serum globulins. Increased serum globulin levels may occur in inflammatory hepatic disease or when the hepatic reticuloendothelial system is compromised. Decreased levels will often occur in portosystemic encephalopathy as a large proportion of globulins are synthesised in the liver.

Bilirubinaemia and bilirubinuria
Dogs (males more than females) have a low resorptive threshold for bilirubin. They also have renal enzyme systems that produce and conjugate bilirubin to a limited extent. Therefore, mild bilirubinuria (up to 2+) can occur in normal dog urine of greater than 1.025 specific gravity.

Slight bilirubinuria may occur in starvation and febrile states and mild bilirubinaemia and bilirubinuria can also occurs with sepsis. Bilirubinuria will develop well before overt jaundice in dogs due to the low renal threshold.

Is the relative ratio of conjugated vs. unconjugated bilirubinaemia helpful in determining whether hepatic pathology is intra- or extra-hepatic?

  • While an animal with only conjugated bilirubinaemia would most likely have post-hepatic jaundice (due to biliary tract or pancreatic disease most commonly), the majority of animals with hepatic or post-hepatic jaundice will have both unconjugated and conjugated bilirubinaemia. Post-hepatic obstruction will cause secondary hepatocellular damage and, as previously mentioned, bilirubin excretion is the first process to become disordered in primary hepatocellular disease.

Cholesterol
Very low serum cholesterol concentrations may occur in patients with congenital or acquired portosystemic shunts and fulminant hepatic failure. Increased serum cholesterol in a jaundiced patient usually indicates major bile duct occlusion particularly in cats. However, cholesterol concentrations are also increased in non-hepatic diseases such as pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, hyperadrenocorticism and hypothyroidism which if present concurrently can confuse interpretation.

Bile acids
Serum bile acids are a sensitive and specific measure of hepatobiliary function in the cat and dog. They should be considered when other routine clinical pathology results do not permit an unequivocal diagnosis of liver disease to be made. It is not necessary to do the test if the patient is jaundiced and not anaemic, nor if liver enzyme changes permit an unequivocal diagnosis of liver disease to be made.

Bile acids are useful as a screening test for hepatic encephalopathy (except in Maltese Terriers). Their major advantage in this context is the lack of stringent requirements for sample collection and processing in contrast to blood ammonia determination.

Occasionally, bile acids can be normal in patients with hepatic disease. We have observed this in some cases of hepatic neoplasia. The level of serum bile acid increase roughly correlates with the severity of the hepatobiliary disorder but the level gives no indication of reversibility or the type of the lesion and hence prognosis.

Serum bile acid concentrations are usually not affected by steroid administration but occasionally can be markedly altered due to alteration of hepatic architecture as a result of hepatic glycogen accumulation. Serum bile acids are therefore useful but not infallible for differentiating elevated ALP values due to steroids (endogenous or exogenous) or hepatobiliary disease.

Other diagnostic procedures

Radiology
Plain radiographs may be helpful in confirming hepatomegaly, the presence of a small liver, or asymmetric enlargement of a liver lobe. However, although the liver is the largest solid organ in the body, its plain film evaluation is unreliable. Contrast radiography is primarily indicated in diagnosing portacaval shunts.

Ultrasound
Ultrasound examination of the liver may assist in differentiating homogeneous enlargement from cellular infiltration and in differentiating hepatic from post-hepatic cholestasis.

Biopsy
Hepatic biopsy is usually the only method by which the type of hepatic pathology can be characterised. Hepatic biopsy (via exploratory laparotomy or ultrasound guided) should be considered in all dogs with obstructive jaundice and in those with evidence of chronic hepatocellular disease.

The pretenders
A number of diseases may be confused with hepatic disease because of clinical signs or clinicopathological abnormalities. Increased liver enzymes, ALT, and ALP may occur in pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, and hyperthyroidism. Moderately increased bilirubin can occur in a variety of non-hepatic diseases as well as in conditions such as prolonged anorexia, catabolic states, and infection. Mild increases in ALT may be observed in animals with cardiac pathology. Substantial increases in ALP with moderate increases in ALT will occur in most dogs with hyperadrenocorticism.

Causes of hepatic disease in dogs

Chronic hepatitis 

  • Chronic progressive hepatitis-idiopathic, immune mediated? 

  • Bedlington Terriers, WHW Terriers—copper toxicity

  • Lobular dissecting hepatitis

  • Leptospirosis

  • Viral - adenovirus

  • Drug induced- primidone, phenytoin

  • Suppurative cholangiohepatitis

  • Non-suppurative (lymphocytic) cholangiohepatitis

Acute hepatitis

  • Toxins e.g., thiacetarsamide, anticonvulsants

  • Aflatoxin, bacterial endotoxin, blue green algae

  • Bacterial - Leptospira, Salmonella, Clostridia

  • Viral- adenovirus I (ICH), canine herpes

  • Toxoplasmosis

  • Dirofilariasis—caval syndrome

  • Acute pancreatitis

  • Acute haemolytic anaemia

  • Heat stroke

  • Surgical hypotension or hypoxia

  • Trauma

Cirrhosis

End-stage fibrosis of many inflammatory hepatic diseases. Aetiology undetermined in majority of cases.

Glucocorticoid hepatopathy

The canine liver is uniquely sensitive to the effects of exogenous or endogenous corticosteroids.

Neoplasia

The liver is a frequent site for both primary and metastatic neoplasia.

Primary neoplasms

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Hepatoma

  • Cholangiocarcinoma

  • Fibroma/fibrosarcoma

  • Haemangioma/haemangiosarcoma

  • Lymphosarcoma (may also be multi-focal)

Portosystemic or hepatic encephalopathy


Jill Maddison 
Australia
Web Site

 

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