Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antioxidant levels in blood and eye fluid of poodles with cataracts
By Barros, Paulo S M et al.·Published in Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie·2004·Serviç, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Blood and aqueous humour antioxidants in cataractous poodles.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of poodles aged 2 to 11 years with cataracts was studied to understand the role of antioxidants in their condition. Researchers found that the levels of certain antioxidant enzymes were lower in the cataractous poodles compared to healthy ones, suggesting that a lack of these enzymes might contribute to the development of cataracts. However, there was no significant difference in vitamin C levels between the cataractous and non-cataractous dogs. This study highlights the potential importance of antioxidant levels in managing cataracts in poodles, but more research is needed to determine effective treatments.
People also search for: poodle cataracts treatment · dog eye problems antioxidants · cataract surgery for dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cataract is an important cause of blindness in dogs and frequently develops in young animals of certain breeds, such as the English cocker spaniel and the poodle. Protein oxidation is one of the mechanisms involved in lens opacification and may be causally related to depleted or diminished endogenous antioxidant defences. We evaluated the levels of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants in blood and aqueous humour of cataractous poodles in comparison to noncataractous poodles. METHODS: We studied 35 cataractous poodles aged 2 to 11 years, 14 noncataractous poodles and 15 noncataractous mixed-breed dogs. The activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD]) was evaluated in 18 cataractous poodles and 14 noncataractous poodles. We evaluated ascorbic acid levels in plasma of all animals and in aqueous humour of cataractous poodles and mixed-breed dogs. The dogs were deprived of food for 12 hours before sampling. Blood samples were obtained from the jugular vein before and during anesthesia. Aqueous humour samples were obtained just before the anterior chamber was opened. RESULTS: The activity of superoxide dismutase, G6PD and catalase was significantly higher in noncataractous poodles than in cataractous poodles (p < or = 0.05). The activity of glutathione peroxidase was lower in noncataractous poodles than in cataractous poodles, but not significantly so. There was no difference in mean plasma ascorbic acid concentration between cataractous poodles (21.3 microM [standard deviation (SD) 7.4 microM]), noncataractous poodles (21.6 microM [SD 7.4 microM]) and non-cataractous mixed-breed dogs (25.8 microM [SD 7.5 microM]). Similarly, there was no difference in mean aqueous humour ascorbic acid concentration between cataractous poodles (191.7 microM [SD 62.0 microM] and noncataractous mixed-breed dogs (215.7 microM [SD 91.8 microM]). INTERPRETATION: The results indicate that, at least in the population studied here, no correlation exists between the onset of cataract and ascorbic acid concentration in blood and aqueous humour. The decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes may explain in part the onset of cataract in poodles.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15040610/