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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Cat blood IGF-1 levels stay stable with weight changes

By Zini, Eric et al.Ā·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicineĀ·2021Ā·Clinic for Small Animal Internal MedicineĀ·View original on PubMed →

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Original publication title: Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations in healthy cats before and after weight gain and weight loss.

Species:
cat
Feline obesityAppetite & weightCats

Plain-English summary

Ten healthy cats were studied to see if their weight changes affected levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a hormone that can help diagnose conditions like acromegaly. The cats gained weight over 40 weeks and then lost some weight over the next 20 weeks, but their IGF-1 levels remained stable throughout the study. This suggests that fluctuations in body weight do not impact IGF-1 levels in healthy cats, which could be important for veterinarians when interpreting test results.

People also search for: cat weight gain effects Ā· insulin-like growth factor in cats Ā· acromegaly diagnosis in cats

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Measurement of serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 is used to diagnose acromegaly in cats. HYPOTHESIS: Changes of body weight do not affect serum concentrations of IGF-1 in cats. ANIMALS: Ten healthy purpose-bred cats. METHODS: Prospective study. In lean cats, food availability was stepwise increased during the first week and given ad libitum for a total of 40&#x2009;weeks to increase their body weight. From week 41 to week 60, food access was limited to reach a weight loss of 1% to 2% each week. Measurement of IGF-1 was performed at week 0, 16, 40, and 60. Insulin-like growth factor-1 was measured by radioimmunoassay. Body weight and IGF-1 were compared among the 4 time points. RESULTS: Body weight increased by 44% from week 0 (4.5&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;0.4 kg) to week 40 (6.5&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;1.2 kg) (P&#x2009;<&#x2009;.001) and decreased by 25% from week 40 to week 60 (4.9&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;0.7 kg) (P&#x2009;<&#x2009;.001). Serum IGF-1 concentrations did not differ during the study period (week 0, 16, 40, 60: 500&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;188, 479&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;247, 470&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;184, 435&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;154&#x2009;ng/mL, respectively; P = .38). Correlations with body weight were not observed. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Insulin-like growth factor-1 might not be influenced by changes of body weight in healthy cats, possibly suggesting that the latter is unimportant when interpreting IGF-1 results in this species.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33830548/