Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bone loss tests in dogs with hip joint disease and injury
By Youkhanna, David et al.·Published in Veterinary surgery : VS·2012·VCA Veterinary Specialty Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Bone resorption markers and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in dogs with avascular necrosis, degenerative joint disease, and trauma of the coxofemoral joint.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of small dogs with avascular necrosis (a condition where bone tissue dies due to lack of blood supply) showed lower bone density and higher levels of a specific bone resorption marker in their blood compared to healthy dogs. The study also included large dogs with degenerative joint disease and trauma, but these conditions did not show the same changes in bone density. The findings suggest that blood tests for bone resorption may be more useful than urine tests in assessing bone health in dogs. Understanding these markers can help veterinarians better diagnose and treat bone-related issues in pets.
People also search for: dog avascular necrosis symptoms · small dog bone health tests · how to treat bone loss in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To compare the ability of N-terminal telopeptide (NTx) assays and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) to detect bone resorption in dogs with nonneoplastic bone lysis and evaluate the correlation between these diagnostic tools. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional clinical study. ANIMALS: Dogs (n = 35; 39 femoral heads) that had femoral head and neck ostectomy and 6 cadaver specimens from healthy immature small dogs. METHODS: Small dogs with avascular necrosis (n = 12), a reference group of small dogs (7), large dogs with degenerative joint disease (DJD; 10), and large dogs with trauma (10) were studied in addition to 6 femoral heads harvested from 6 small immature and healthy dogs euthanatized for reasons unrelated to this study. Densitometric measurements of femoral heads, urine NTx excretion, and serum NTx concentration were compared between groups. RESULTS: Avascular necrosis resulted in a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) (0.18 ± 0.01 g/cm(2;) P < .01) of the femoral head and elevation of serum NTx (159.3 ± 59.4 nM; P = .03) compared to small dog controls (0.28 ± 0.02 g/cm(2) ; 18.7 ± 1.83 nM, respectively), but did not seem to affect urine NTx. DJD in large dogs did not seem to affect any of the densitometric parameters evaluated. BMD (P = .03) and serum NTx (P = .04) were lower in small compared to large dogs. Serum NTx and densitometric measurements correlate inversely with each other (P = .001) but neither test correlated with urine NTx (P = .8-.9). CONCLUSION: Serum NTx levels vary with dog size but seem to correlate better with BMD better than urine NTx excretion in dogs with nonneoplastic bone resorption.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22607356/