Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dietary fat restriction helps treat intestinal lymphangiectasia
By Okanishi, H et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2014·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The clinical efficacy of dietary fat restriction in treatment of dogs with intestinal lymphangiectasia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 24 dogs with intestinal lymphangiectasia (a condition causing protein loss through the intestines) were treated with a low-fat diet after not responding well to prednisolone, a common steroid medication. Most of the dogs, about 79%, showed improvement in their symptoms and were able to have their steroid dosage reduced. After two months on the low-fat diet, their protein levels in the blood increased, indicating better health. This suggests that a low-fat diet can be a helpful treatment for dogs with this condition who aren't responding to steroids.
People also search for: dog intestinal lymphangiectasia treatment · low-fat diet for dogs with protein loss · prednisolone side effects in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL), a type of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), is a dilatation of lymphatic vessels within the gastrointestinal tract. Dietary fat restriction previously has been proposed as an effective treatment for dogs with PLE, but limited objective clinical data are available on the efficacy of this treatment. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical efficacy of dietary fat restriction in dogs with IL that were unresponsive to prednisolone treatment or showed relapse of clinical signs and hypoalbuminemia when the prednisolone dosage was decreased. ANIMALS: Twenty-four dogs with IL. METHODS: Retrospective study. Body weight, clinical activity score, and hematologic and biochemical variables were compared before and 1 and 2 months after treatment. Furthermore, the data were compared between the group fed only an ultra low-fat (ULF) diet and the group fed ULF and a low-fat (LF) diet. RESULTS: Nineteen of 24 (79%) dogs responded satisfactorily to dietary fat restriction, and the prednisolone dosage could be decreased. Clinical activity score was significantly decreased after dietary treatment compared with before treatment. In addition, albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration were significantly increased after dietary fat restriction. At 2 months posttreatment, the ALB concentrations in the ULF group were significantly higher than that of the ULF + LF group. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Dietary fat restriction appears to be an effective treatment in dogs with IL that are unresponsive to prednisolone treatment or that have recurrent clinical signs and hypoalbuminemia when the dosage of prednisolone is decreased.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24673630/