Testosterone treatment for urinary leakage in spayed female dogs

Abstract

Urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) is a common cause of urinary incontinence in dogs. Although estrogen is often prescribed for the medical therapy of USMI for spayed female dogs, they are known to have limited effectiveness and potential adverse effects. In castrated male dogs with USMI, testosterone reagents have been attempted besides estrogen. In this study, the effect of testosterone drugs, mainly methyltestosterone, on spayed female dogs with USMI was retrospectively evaluated. Ten spayed female dogs with USMI were included. Diagnosis of USMI was based on the results of the dogs' medical history, clinical signs, and no abnormalities in physical examinations, urinalysis, ultrasonography, X-ray imaging, and neurological examinations. Methyltestosterone was administered at doses of 0.32-1.27 mg/kg BW p.o. semel in die (sid.) to twice a week. Nine of the ten dogs had good or excellent responses 2 to 4 weeks after the start of treatment. The minimum effective dose was 0.32 mg/kg/day. Although no severe adverse symptoms occurred in any dog, a mild increase in alanine aminotransferase was temporally observed at doses of 1.0 and 1.1 mg/kg/day in the two dogs. After dose reduction or withdrawal, two of eight dogs had recurrence of urinary incontinence. Resumption of testosterone treatment clearly improved the symptoms in the two dogs. These results indicate that testosterone reagents might be an option for treating USMI in spayed female dogs as well.