Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Folic acid supplements cut lip and palate clefts in Pug and Chihuahua
By Domosławska, A et al.·Published in Polish journal of veterinary sciences·2013·Department of Animal Reproduction with Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Oral folic acid supplementation decreases palate and/or lip cleft occurrence in Pug and Chihuahua puppies and elevates folic acid blood levels in pregnant bitches.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Pregnant Pugs and Chihuahuas were given folic acid supplements to see if it would lower the chances of their puppies being born with cleft lips or palates. The study found that after the mothers received the supplements, the occurrence of these conditions in their litters dropped significantly. For example, only about 4.76% of Pug puppies and 4.8% of Chihuahua puppies had cleft issues after the mothers were supplemented, compared to over 10% before. This suggests that giving folic acid to pregnant dogs can be an effective way to help prevent these birth defects.
People also search for: Pug cleft lip prevention · Chihuahua cleft palate treatment · folic acid for pregnant dogs
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of the occurrence of lip and/or palate cleft (CL/CP) in new-borns of two breeds, Pugs and Chihuahuas, and to measure the folic acid blood levels in bitches during gestations both with and without folic acid oral supplementation. Bitches of 13 Pugs and 17 Chihuahuas with CL/CP cases were used in the study. In trial 1, the animals of the experimental group (n=25) were given additional folic acid from the onset of heat till the 40th day of gestation. The females of the control group (n=12) were fed a traditional diet. From all the animals blood was collected at the onset of heat, 14 days later and on the 30th day of the gestation to estimate folic acid concentration. In trial 2, the prevalence of CP/CL cases in litters from pregnancies before and after supplementation was compared. The percentage of puppies with CL/CP after supplementation decreased in both Pugs and Chihuahua puppies (10.86% and 15.78% vs. 4.76% and 4.8% respectively). On Day 0, the concentrations of folic acid were at a low physiological level (around 8 ng/ml) in all the animals. In bitches of the experimental group the blood level of folic acid on day 14th and 30th of the treatment showed an increase in both breeds (13.65 +/- 4.27 ng/ml in Pugs, 10.79 +/- 2.84 ng/ml in Chihuahuas, and 14.94 +/- 3.22 ng/ml in Pugs, 12.95 +/- 3.58 in Chihuahuas, respectively) while in the control group, this level decreased with time of gestation both in Pugs and in Chihuahuas (around 6 ng/ml). Folic acid supplementation seems to be a simple, effective preventive method to reduce the risk of CL/CP, especially in the predisposed breeds.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23691573/