US researchers have discovered signs that can be used to identify dogs with a high risk of gastrointestinal disease—which causes more than 10 per cent of all new visits to a veterinarian—before they develop symptoms.
That team at the Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Laboratory (GI Lab) will now use this discovery—published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine—to research whether specific dietary interventions can help prevent at-risk dogs from developing GI disease, which may be life-saving for breeds that are prone to diseases with a high mortality rate.
Soft-coated wheaten terriers, for example, often develop a disease called protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), which causes the intestines to stop functioning normally, sometimes leading to death in less than six months after diagnosis.
Other breeds that are prone to GI disease are German shepherds, Yorkshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers.
“Sometimes, dogs that are predisposed to GI disease can go their whole lives without having any clinical signs,” A/Prof Dr. Katie Tolbert said.
“For others, signs develop after some kind of stressor in the gut, like an unbalanced diet or having to take antibiotics, triggers the GI disease to develop.
“In this study, we found that certain biomarkers start to show up before symptoms are present, and we think this can help us identify dogs before they actually have the disease.”
Importantly, the researchers found multiple signs that indicate a high risk of disease—not just one.
“There are all sorts of things going on in the gut that turn out to be markers for high risk,” A/Prof Tolbert said.
“Some dogs may have inflammation, while others have leaky guts. Any of these signs can contribute to the development of GI disease if enough changes are present.”
