Home Health An Overview of Cushing’s Disease in Dogs

An Overview of Cushing’s Disease in Dogs

senior black dogAlso known as hyperadrenocorticism, canine Cushing’s disease takes place when the adrenal glands start producing too much cortisol. In order to better understand Cushing’s disease and its effects on dogs, it’s necessary to better understand the basics involved in the normal functioning of the dog’s endocrine system with a focused insight on the pituitary and adrenal glands. When these glands are functioning properly, as in a normal, healthy dog, there are typically no signs of trouble or suggestions of disease; instead, problems start when these glands start overproducing too much of the hormone cortisol. As with many things in life, too much of a good thing turns out being not so good.

The Normal Functioning of the Dog’s Pituitary and Adrenal Glands

The pituitary gland is a pea-sized endocrine gland located at the base of the dog’s brain. This gland is responsible for triggering the production of a hormone known as the adenocorticotrophic hormone, often abbreviated as ACTH. When this hormone is released into the dog’s bloodstream, it stimulates the dog’s two adrenal glands to further secrete another important hormone known as cortisol.

Cortisol is a naturally-produced steroid responsible for helping the body respond to stressful situations. This hormone engages in many important, life-sustaining functions such as the regulation of blood sugar levels, the metabolism of fat and a variety of other functions involving the dog’s kidneys, cardiovascular system, skeletal system, nervous system and immune system.

When the pituitary and adrenal glands are functioning well, the levels of ACTH and cortisone fluctuate based on needs; however, when cortisol levels get high, the pituitary gland stops secreting ACTH, and when cortisol levels get low, the pituitary gland works harder so to secrete more ACTH. This whole unbalanced performance is what leads to a cascading chain of events.

Forms of Cushing’s Disease

Things start getting problematic when dogs develop tumors on the pituitary or adrenal glands or when certain medications interfere with their proper functioning. When this happens, too much cortisol circulates in the body with the end result of weakening the dog’s immune system and leaving his body vulnerable to infection and diseases. There are three forms of Cushing’s disease in dogs: pituitary-dependent, adrenal-based and Iatrogenic. All three of them, cause the body to be inundated with excessive, troublesome cortisol.

  • Pituitary-dependent

    • The great majority of dogs are affected by this form of Cushing’s disease. In dogs with pituitary-dependent Cushing’s disease, their pituitary gland develops a small, benign tumor which causes the over secretion of ACTH. Despite the large amounts of ACTH, the adrenal glands continue secreting cortisol. At the same time, the pituitary glands, fail to recognize the elevated levels of cortisol and continue releasing more ACTH which leads to a cascading chain of events. Typically, dogs affected by this form of Cushing’s disease develop enlarged adrenal glands because these glands are constantly working.

  • Adrenal-based

    • At times, a tumor on the adrenal gland is responsible for causing excessive secretion of cortisol. The tumor in this case can be benign, but there are also chances it may be malignant and prone to metastasizing to the lungs and liver. As in the case of pituitary-dependent Cushing’s disease, the balancing act between the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands is disrupted causing the overproduction of cortisol to flood the bloodstream.

  • Iatrogenic

    • This third type of Cushing’s stems from a totally different dynamic compared to the previous ones. In this case, the condition is medically induced when a dog is given too many corticosteroids to treat conditions such as allergies. Often this condition can be easily prevented by carefully tapering off the cortisone medication gradually over the course of several days. Thankfully, this form of Cushing’s disease is transitory and reversible.

Symptoms

Because cortisol plays many roles, its excessive production triggers a vast array of symptoms that often may appear vague and can be easily confused with signs of normal aging in senior dogs. Cushing’s disease can be defined as a great imitator because its clinical symptoms are very similar to those of several other health conditions. Following are some common symptoms of Cushing’s disease in dogs.

  • Increased drinking
  • Increased urination
  • Inappropriate urination
  • Increased appetite
  • Loss of muscle mass
  • Pot-bellied appearance
  • Excessive panting
  • Thinning of hair
  • Dull coat
  • Bruises on skin that heal slowly
  • Recurrent skin infections

Diagnosis

Clinical signs alone often aren’t sufficient from a diagnostic perspective; indeed, in most instances, further testing is needed. Blood work and urine testing may reveal some hints of the presence of a disorder requiring more definite tests. The best tests to help pinpoint Cushing’s disease consist of a urine cortisol and creatinine ratio test, an ACTH suppression test and a high dose dexamethasone test. An ultrasound often turns out helpful in detecting the presence of a tumor on the adrenal glands. Yet, even with these test results, Cushing’s disease remains a condition that is overall quite challenging to diagnose.

Treatment

The treatment for Cushing’s disease varies depending on the cause. In the case of adrenal tumors, surgery through an experienced surgeon may be indicated. When surgery is not indicated, medications will need to be prescribed. Treatment for the pituitary-induced Cushing’s disease requires long term administration of drugs. The most common drugs used are mitotane (Lysodren) and trilostane (Vetoryl). On the other hand, when it comes to the iatrogenic form of this condition, treatment focuses on carefully discontinuing the steroid that is being administered. It’s important that the weaning-off process is conducted in a controlled, systematic manner under the vet’s guidance so to avoid complications.

The Bottom Line

The only real definite cure for Cushing’s disease consists of the removal of the adrenal gland tumor when caught at an early stage and when the tumor hasn’t had a chance to spread, explains Anna Stohlman, a veterinarian working for the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. However, because the surgical procedure is quite complex and there are several risks involved, many choose to manage it through the use of medications. Fortunately, through careful monitoring, dogs with Cushing’s disease can lead a good quality of life as long at their owners are diligent in administering medications and are willing to follow up on routine blood work.

References

Shelly Hawkins
The Top Hunting Dog BreedsThings You Need to Know Before Adopting a Puppy
You Might Also Like
 
 
Pour devenir la plus belle mariée, le plus critique l’aspect est de trouver une robe qui propre à soi-même. Mais les robes manifique coûte un bon prix, Si il ne suffit pas de votre budget de mariage, laRobe de mariéemariée peut peur de répondre à leurs aspirations. Donc, je peut vous faire cinq conseils pour acheter la robe de mariée bon marché, et je vous souhaite qui peut vous aider choisir une robe et sans casser votre budget de mariage.
Piercing fascinerande figur, och nu tittar vi på 2016 senast brudklänning, kan du vara den vackraste bruden det!2016 senaste Bra brudklänning, söt temperament Bra design, romantiska spetsar blomma kjol, som du lägger till enbröllopsklänningar elegant och charmig temperament.Kvinnan tillbaka mjuka linjer, människor ofta få en känsla av oändlig frestelse. Fall 2016 mässan, lämnar uppgifter om ditt bröllop charmig.
In the match, many people found that Chinese athletes shirts was being washed up, like stick in the body and seems to sweat poor.But after the interview of yesterday and know that, although already the shirtscheap jerseys was soaked from the surface, but the athletes did feel very dry and comfortable, which is New cheap Jersey’s high-tech location.
China’s sports enthusiasts NFL sweatshirt with mad love and the pursuit of, and therefore, NFL jerseys have a good market in China and development. China is a populous country, is the consumer, the economic momentum is so good, the sales prospects sportswear is immeasurable. With hot sales sweatshirt, but also to promote the importance of sports fans, on health, on the other hand is a matter of concern for the World Cup, fans wearing NFL jerseys and also can express themselves more fully love and obsession Therefore, NFLWholesale jerseys jerseys wholesale has good prospects and development in China.
GUIRENNIAO-This logo is a spiritual totem, smooth graphics implication unstoppable force; flexible deliver an elegant arc movement, strength and speed of the United States, a symbol of passion and rationality publicity “Heart” and “meaning”, “concept” unity; pass the fearless and enterprising mind, showing beyond the realm of self, to unstoppable force to create the future.XTEP-Xtep (China) Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive development wholesaleWholesale jerseys jerseys china shop, production and marketing of Xtep brand (XTEP) sports shoes, clothing, bags, caps, balls, socks mainly large sporting goods industry enterprises.
There are a lot of fans in identifying the authenticity of the above cheap jerseys have great distress, so here to i will show you some methods to definitely affordable inexpensive cheap jerseys : Firstly, we should look at if it is working fine. China has been called the world’s factory, a lot cheap jerseys factories in China have foundries, but our cheap jerseys are all from here! Secondly, should to see whether it is the , we all know that it is difficult to get out of print once a genuine cheap jersey was print. and we have all kind of stocka on the whole website, in other words, we have all you want ! Finally, look at the price, our price is not necessarily the lowest in the whole website but it must be most fair on the whole website, we certainly you will not regret later when you buy it. Of course, except that cheap cheap jerseys jerseys, we also have the other products, such as socks, leggings and some other related products, everyone can enjoy the best services of here!