Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Worse Leishmaniasis in Dogs
By Rodriguez-Cortes, A et al.·Published in Scientific reports·2017·Departament de Farmacologia, Spain·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Canine Leishmaniasis Progression is Associated with Vitamin D Deficiency.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with leishmaniasis, a disease caused by a parasite, were found to have lower vitamin D levels compared to healthy dogs. Specifically, sick dogs had an average of 19.6 ng/mL of vitamin D, while healthy dogs had 31.8 ng/mL. This suggests that vitamin D deficiency might be linked to the progression of leishmaniasis in dogs. However, the study did not find a direct connection between vitamin D levels and the immune response to the parasite. More research is needed to understand how vitamin D affects this disease and its treatment.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · vitamin D deficiency in dogs · treatment for dog leishmaniasis
Abstract
The relationship between vitamin D deficiency and the risk of suffering from a plethora of health disorders, ranging from autoimmune processes to infectious diseases has been widely described. Nonetheless, the potential role of vitamin D in visceral leishmaniasis remains uncharacterized. In the Mediterranean basin, where the dog is leishmania's main peri-domestic reservoir, control measures against the canine disease have shown beneficial effects on the incidence of human leishmaniasis. In this study, we measured the vitamin D levels in serum samples from a cohort of 68 healthy and disease dogs from a highly endemic area and we have also studied the relationship of these levels with parasitological and immunological parameters. The sick dogs presented significantly lower (P < 0.001) vitamin D levels (19.6 ng/mL) than their non-infected (31.8 ng/mL) and the asymptomatic counterparts (29.6 ng/mL). In addition, vitamin D deficiency correlated with several parameters linked to leishmaniasis progression. However, there was no correlation between vitamin D levels and the Leishmania-specific cellular immune response. Moreover, both the leishmanin skin test and the IFN-γ levels displayed negative correlations with serological, parasitological and clinical signs. Further studies to determine the functional role of vitamin D on the progression and control of canine leishmaniasis are needed.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28611427/