Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High alkaline phosphatase linked to adrenal issues in Scottish
By Zimmerman, Kurt L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2010·Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hyperphosphatasemia and concurrent adrenal gland dysfunction in apparently healthy Scottish Terriers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 34 healthy adult Scottish Terriers was studied to understand why some had high levels of a specific enzyme (alkaline phosphatase) in their blood. It turned out that the dogs with high enzyme levels also showed signs of adrenal gland dysfunction, even though they didn't show any obvious symptoms of illness. Tests revealed that their bodies were producing too much cortisol, a hormone related to stress, which was linked to the high enzyme levels. The findings suggest that the high enzyme levels were likely due to this adrenal issue, but the dogs appeared healthy overall.
People also search for: Scottish Terrier high alkaline phosphatase · dog adrenal gland problems · symptoms of hyperadrenocorticism in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine causes of hyperphosphatasemia (high serum alkaline phosphatase [ALP] activity) in apparently healthy Scottish Terriers. DESIGN: Prospective case-controlled study. ANIMALS: 34 apparently healthy adult Scottish Terriers (17 with and 17 without hyperphosphatasemia). PROCEDURES: Serum activities for 3 isoforms (bone, liver, and corticosteroid) of ALP were measured. Concentrations of cortisol, progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, androstenedione, estradiol, and aldosterone were measured before and after cosyntropin administration (ie, ACTH; 5 microg/kg [2.27 microg/lb], IM). Liver biopsy specimens from 16 dogs (11 with and 5 without hyperphosphatasemia) were evaluated histologically. RESULTS: In dogs with hyperphosphatasemia, the corticosteroid ALP isoform comprised a significantly higher percentage of total ALP activity, compared with the percentage in dogs without hyperphosphatasemia (mean +/- SE, 69 +/- 5.0% and 17 +/- 3.8%, respectively). In 6 dogs with hyperphosphatasemia, but none without, serum cortisol concentrations exceeded reference intervals after ACTH stimulation. Six dogs with and 15 without hyperphosphatasemia had increased concentrations of >or = 1 noncortisol steroid hormone after ACTH stimulation. Serum ALP activity was correlated with cortisol and androstenedione concentrations (r = 0.337 and 0.496, respectively) measured after ACTH stimulation. All dogs with and most without hyperphosphatasemia had abnormal hepatocellular reticulation typical of vacuolar hepatopathy. Subjectively, hepatocellular reticulation was more severe and widespread in hyperphosphatasemic dogs, compared with that in nonhyperphosphatasemic dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Hyperphosphatasemia in apparently healthy Scottish Terriers was most likely attributable to hyperadrenocorticism on the basis of exaggerated serum biochemical responses to ACTH administration and histologic hepatic changes, but none of the dogs had clinical signs of hyperadrenocorticism.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20632791/