PetCaseFinder

Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Colchicine reduces artery thickening after balloon angioplasty in dogs

By Atta, Hussein M et al.·Published in The Journal of surgical research·2008·Department of Surgery·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Colchicine inhibits intimal hyperplasia and leukocyte VEGF expression in dogs.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of adult dogs underwent a procedure called balloon angioplasty on their right iliofemoral artery to improve blood flow. Some dogs received a medication called colchicine before and after the procedure, while others did not. The dogs that took colchicine showed a significant reduction in the thickening of the artery walls compared to those that didn't, and there were no signs of toxicity from the medication. This suggests that colchicine can help prevent complications after angioplasty in dogs.

People also search for: dog balloon angioplasty · colchicine for dogs · dog artery thickening treatment

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Restenosis due to intimal hyperplasia following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty limits its long-term efficacy. We evaluated the effect of colchicine on the development of intimal hyperplasia following balloon angioplasty and on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in leukocytes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Adult dogs underwent balloon angioplasty of the right iliofemoral artery. Group 1 served as control, while groups 2 and 3 (six animals per group) received 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg/d of colchicine p.o., respectively, starting 2 d before angioplasty and continued for 14 d. Before angioplasty and at day 14, blood samples were collected for drug toxicity analysis and the determination of leukocyte expression of VEGF. Animals were euthanized and iliofemoral arteries were perfusion fixed in situ and processed for histological and morphometric analysis. RESULTS: Balloon angioplasty without colchicine resulted in 446% (P < 0.001), 111% (P = 0.7), and 267% (P < 0.001) increase in intimal and medial thickness and intima/media ratio compared with contralateral uninjured iliofemoral arteries. Low-dose and high-dose colchicine resulted in 32% and 58% reduction in intima/media ratio, respectively (both P < 0.001). VEGF expression in leukocytes of control group was up-regulated (40%), but was down-regulated by 12% and 55%, respectively, in low-dose and high-dose colchicine groups at 2 wk after angioplasty compared with preangioplasty expression. The results of complete blood count and serum transaminases and creatinine were within normal range. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that oral colchicine for 2 wk significantly reduces intimal hyperplasia following balloon angioplasty in dogs through down-regulation of leukocyte VEGF expression and without apparent toxicity.

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/17597159/