Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring metanephrine levels in healthy cats and a cat
By Prego, Maria Teresa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·Veterinary Teaching Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Plasma and urinary metanephrine and normetanephrine concentrations using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in healthy cats and in a cat with pheochromocytoma.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, a rare tumor affecting the adrenal glands, had significantly higher levels of certain substances (metanephrines) in its blood and urine compared to healthy cats. The study measured these levels using advanced testing methods and found that the sick cat's results were much higher than those of 10 healthy cats. This suggests that measuring metanephrines could help veterinarians diagnose this condition in cats. The findings provide useful reference points for understanding what normal levels should be in healthy cats.
People also search for: cat pheochromocytoma symptoms · high metanephrine levels in cats · cat adrenal gland tumor diagnosis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pheochromocytoma (PCC) is rare in cats and plasma (PL) and urinary (U) metanephrines (metanephrine [MN]; normetanephrine [NMN]) measurement is rarely described in cats. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the utility of PL and U MNs measurement in 10 healthy cats and a cat with a confirmed diagnosis of pheochromocytoma (PheoCat), using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). METHODS: Urine and EDTA PL samples collected from each of the 10 cats and the PheoCat were promptly stored at -80°C and remained frozen until analysis. To evaluate U MNs stability, an additional urine sample collected from the healthy cats was refrigerated for 24 hours before freezing. Urinary creatinine concentration (Creat) was assessed using the same spot urine samples to calculate U MNs-to-creatinine ratios. RESULTS: The PL-MN and PL-NMN median concentrations of the healthy cats were 2.73 and 7.02 nmol/L, respectively. The median U-MN/Creat and U-NMN/Creat ratios were 70 and 139 μg/g, respectively. The PheoCat had a PL-MN of 3.68 nmol/L, PL-NMN of 66.27 nmol/L, U-MN/Creat of 179 μg/g, and U-NMN/Creat of 1262 μg/g. The PheoCat had markedly increased concentrations of both PL and U MNs when compared to the healthy cats. No significant difference was found between U MNs measured in urine samples that underwent 24 hours of refrigeration in comparison to those that were frozen immediately. CONCLUSIONS: We report preliminary reference intervals for PL and U MNs in cats using LC-MS-MS and the potential clinical applicability of these biomarkers for the diagnosis of PCC in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37057306/