![]() ![]() Analysis for cyanogenic glycosides present in flaxseed revealed differences between diets: the Control diet contained 13 mg/kg linamarin, while linustatin and neolinustatin concentrations were below detection limit (< 10 mg/kg). The hypothesis tested was that routine health parameters and taurine status affected in healthy dogs fed diets with less conventional ingredients, including high levels of split peas and lentils, have clinical relevance for DCM development.īesides the differences in the animal-derived ingredients and legume content, a relatively high level of flaxseed meal was also included in the Test diet. The clinical relevance of the results of the responses were then examined by comparing them to those of dogs with DCM in their diagnosis, along with a breed, gender and age-matched set of healthy controls collected from a survey of electronic health records (EHRs) from Banfield® Pet Hospitals. To this end, a 30-day, longitudinal, small-scale study was initiated with the aim of understanding whether less conventional diets with high inclusion of legumes (60% total) lead to changes in routine hematology, clinical biochemistry, and whole blood, plasma and urinary taurine, the latter considered a more accurate indication of taurine status than blood concentrations. However, the specific pathophysiological events leading to diet-associated DCM in dogs fed grain-free, legume-rich diets is currently not understood.Īlthough a number of clinical studies report implications of such diets on canine cardiac health, fewer report routine health parameters along with taurine status in dogs fed such diets. ![]() Further support for a dietary aetiology is provided by improvement of DCM when dogs are transitioned onto conventional, grain-inclusive diets, either with or without additional taurine supplementation. Although taurine deficiency was considered as a cause of the recent DCM cases, factors indicate that this may not always be the case: 1) reported diet, whole blood and plasma concentrations of taurine have in most cases been within recommended ranges and 2) affected dogs are represented across a wider range of breeds/sizes and ages. Historically, DCM was most prevalent in genetically predisposed large and giant breed dogs or as a result of taurine deficiency, which in dogs has been limited to certain breeds suggesting genetic factors influencing taurine biosynthesis/metabolism. A possible current example is dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs in the US following prolonged intake over months or years of grain-free, legume-rich diets. ![]() However, these may change the bioavailability or metabolism of nutrients and other dietary components, potentially leading to health issues. Recent years have shown an increasing trend in the use of less traditional (alternative) feed ingredients in pet foods. The data will aid in generating hypotheses for future studies. Changes in taurine metabolism were indicated. Thus grain-free, legume-rich Test diets caused reduced RBC and hyperphosphatemia, findings also indicated in dogs with suspected DCM. Regarding taurine status, Test dogs transiently increased whole-blood (23.4%) and plasma (47.7%) concentrations on day 14, while taurine:creatinine ratio in fresh urine and taurine in pooled urine were reduced by 77 and 78%, respectively, on day 28/30. Commonalities in these parameters were observed in clinical DCM cases. Compared to baseline values, feeding the Test diet for 28 days caused progressive, significant ( p < 0.001) decreases in red blood cell counts (RBC), hematocrit and total hemoglobin by 7.7, 8.3 and 6.3%, respectively, and a 41.8% increase in plasma inorganic phosphate. The EHRs of dogs at Banfield® Pet Hospitals in the 2-year period 2018-2019 were surveyed, revealing 420 dogs diagnosed with DCM, which were compared with 420 breed, gender and age-matched healthy control dogs. Blood and urine samples collected at baseline and days 3, 14 and 28/30 were analyzed for hematology, clinical biochemistry and taurine concentrations. Control and Test diets were fed to Labrador retriever dogs for 30 days ( n = 5 and 6, respectively). To help understand the clinical relevance of the findings, a survey of electronic health records (EHR) was conducted of dogs with and without suspected DCM for comparison. Early responses in healthy adult dogs fed grain-free diets with high inclusion of split peas (20%) and lentils (40%) that may lead to canine diet-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were investigated. ![]()
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