Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diseases linked to high vitamin B12 in UK dogs
By Da Riz, Fiona et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2021·Highcroft Veterinary Referrals, United Kingdom·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Diseases associated with hypercobalaminemia in dogs in United Kingdom: A retrospective study of 47 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 47 dogs in the UK had high levels of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in their blood, which can be linked to various health issues. Many of these dogs showed signs of gastrointestinal problems, liver disease, and some had neurological or endocrine disorders. While high cobalamin levels are often seen in dogs with these conditions, it’s important for pet owners to understand that this can also occur alongside other health issues. If your dog has been diagnosed with high cobalamin levels, it’s a good idea to discuss potential underlying conditions with your veterinarian.
People also search for: dog high vitamin B12 symptoms · dog liver disease signs · dog gastrointestinal problems treatment
Abstract
Cobalamin concentration is often assessed in clinical practice but little is known about the significance of hypercobalaminemia. The objective of this retrospective study was to identify the conditions associated with hypercobalaminemia in dogs and to investigate association with clinicopathological variables. Medical records of dogs having serum cobalamin measured between 2016 and 2018 were reviewed. One hundred sixty dogs were included and 47 (29%) showed hypercobalaminemia. Dogs with hypercobalaminemia had gastrointestinal (57%), hepatic (11%), neurological (11%), endocrine (9%), renal (4%), pancreatic (2%), and miscellaneous (6%) diseases. Overall, 11% had neoplasia. This distribution was not significantly different from that for hypocobalaminemic and normocobalaminemic dogs. There were significantly more dogs with hyperfolatemia in the hypercobalaminemia group. These results suggest that in clinical practice hypercobalaminemia is commonly identified in gastrointestinal and hepatic disease in dogs, but can also be seen with endocrine and neurological conditions. The frequency of hyperfolatemia alongside hypercobalaminemia may reflect common metabolic pathways.
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/34219769/