Treatment of Cushings Disease in Canines
01 Oct 2008
Most diseases that strike your dog as he gets older are basically diseases of captivity. What this means is that these are the health conditions that are caused due to the fact that your dog has been kept in captivity as against the wild and has been exposed to environmental toxins that he would otherwise have been a stranger to.
With better medical facilities our pets live longer than ever before. This is definitely much longer than they would have lived in the wild. However, this comes at a price that they have to pay with serious illness like Cushing’s disease and cancer. While cancer is a dreaded disease, Cushing’s is equally frightening in terms of the problems it creates for the pet and the owner.
Cushings disease is characterized by increased thirst and urination, abnormal hair loss, brittle skin and abdominal enlargement. It is caused by either a pituitary adenoma, adrenal neoplasm or an overdose of steroids.
Basically, Cushings disease is classified into two broad types - pituitary dependent and adrenal dependent. This means that the problem lies in either of these two endocrine glands and causes excessive production of cortisol. There is a wide range of diagnostic tests available for establishing the underlying cause for the disease and a number of treatments that dog owners can choose from.
Cushings disease arising out of a small adrenal tumor may be treated by a surgical excision depending on the type of the tumor. This is only possible if the disease has not invaded the gland. Surgery to remove pituitary tumors is a delicate procedure and requires an extremely skillful veterinary surgeon.
Most veterinarians usually do not take the trouble of establishing the source of the problem because in most cases, medications used for treatment are effective against both types of Cushing’s disease – those caused by problems in the adrenal gland and the pituitary.
Lysodren or mitotane, a derivative of DDD, an insecticide and a metabolite of DDT was the only drug available till the 1980s. Ketoconazole, an antifungal drug has been extensively used till the last two decades for its immunosuppressive affect. L-deprenyl, a relatively newer discovery, in extremely high doses, is used to treat symptoms of Cushings disease in dogs. Trilostane, another new drug, is used as an inhibitor of steroidogenic enzymes.
However, none of these drugs are without side effects. There is therefore a need to monitor the medication and its side effects on a regular basis. In fact, Trilostane was withdrawn for human use in America in 1994. Some of these have a chemotherapeutic effect of destroying adrenal cells. This results in a situation where the immune response of production of pituitary hormones continues but the adrenal gland is unable to respond. The problem arises when too much of adrenal tissue is destroyed. Such a situation necessitates prednisone (another immunosuppressant), a drug that has its own side effects.
If you start early and take good care of your pet there are possibilities that serious diseases like Cushing’s disease may be averted. Natural remedies for canine Cushings disease strengthen the immune system to help in self-healing. What is required is to gather information of natural diets meant for dogs and to make good use of Cushing’s disease supplement for dogs to ensure good overall health of your pet.
We Recommend:
Cushex Drops are a natural, safe and effective blend of both herbal and homeopathic ingredients specially selected to treat Cushings in pets. Each ingredient of this natural remedy has a specific role to play in normalizing adrenal function, balancing corticosteroid levels or reducing the troublesome symptoms of this condition. Cushex Drops are easy to administer and the dosage can be adjusted to suit pets of all sizes.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedi....org/wiki/Trilostane
http://www.peteduc...le.cfm?articleid=416
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One Response
2008 Oct 01
[...] Anmol Mehta wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptNatural Remedies for canine Cushings disease strengthen the Immune System to help in self-healing. What is required is to gather information of natural diets meant for dogs and to make good use of Cushing’s disease supplement for dogs … [...]