Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diet changes affect protein in urine of female carrier dogs
By Burkholder, William J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2004·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Diet modulates proteinuria in heterozygous female dogs with X-linked hereditary nephropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of young female dogs with a genetic kidney condition called X-linked hereditary nephropathy (XLHN) were studied to see how different diets affected their protein levels in urine. The dogs were fed either a high-protein diet or a low-protein diet for six weeks. The results showed that the high-protein diet led to significantly higher protein levels in their urine, while the low-protein diet helped reduce proteinuria but caused issues with maintaining their weight and blood protein levels. This suggests that while a low-protein diet can help manage kidney issues, it needs to be balanced to avoid other health problems.
People also search for: dog kidney disease diet · proteinuria in dogs · X-linked hereditary nephropathy treatment · low protein diet for dogs · managing dog kidney health
Abstract
Young adult heterozygous (carrier) female dogs with X-linked hereditary nephropathy (XLHN) have glomerular proteinuria but are otherwise healthy. Because data regarding dietary influences on the magnitude of proteinuria in dogs with spontaneous glomerular disease are not available, 12 such dogs were studied in a double crossover experiment intended to determine effects of altering dietary protein intake for up to 6 weeks. Dogs were blocked by urine protein : creatinine ratio (UPC) and randomly assigned to receive 2 diets: high protein (34.6% dry matter [DM], HP) or low protein (14.1% DM, LP) fed in HP-LP-HP or LP-HP-LP sequence. Food intake was measured daily, body weight (BW) was measured twice weekly, and UPC, plasma creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, phosphorus, albumin, and protein concentrations were measured at 2-week intervals. Nutrient digestibility was measured during the third treatment period. Diet had a significant effect (P < .0001) on all measured variables except plasma phosphorus (P > .5), but unintended differences in digestibility of protein and energy (P < or = .01) prevented assignment of the diet effect exclusively to protein. Proteinuria was greater (UPC 4.7 +/- 2.2 versus 1.8 +/- 1.1, P < .0001) when the HP diet was fed, but the LP diet did not maintain starting BW or plasma albumin concentration within the normal reference range. Diet greatly affects the magnitude of proteinuria in XLHN carrier females. Dietary protein restriction can reduce proteinuria in dogs with glomerular disease, but BW and blood protein concentrations may not be maintained if the restriction is too severe.
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/15058767/