Protein losing enteropathy
 

I have never seen this mentioned on here and thought it would be good to post info on this disease that can affect yorkies.

Disease Name
Protein losing enteropathy

Organ System Involved
Gastrointestinal

Alternative disorders described within LIDA
Intestinal malabsorption

Alternative Names
Intestinal malabsorption
Malabsorption syndrome

Brief Description
There is a certain level of protein normally present in the fraction of blood called 'plasma'. In protein losing enteropathy (PLE) this plasma protein is lost via the gastrointestinal tract.

Presenting Signs
Protein losing enteropathy is due to loss of blood plasma protein through the gastrointestinal tract (intestines). This can happen if the gut wall is damaged and protein-rich fluid leaks from the blood vessels into the intestine. It can also happen if lymphatic drainage is poor (the lymphatic system is a series of vessels that drain fluid). Clinically, it can be detected in a number of ways. One of the most common signs of PLE is long-term watery diarrhoea. Other signs, such as vomiting and severe weight loss, are also seen in some affected dogs. Also, dogs with this disease have excess fluid under the skin, in the abdomen and in the chest cavity around the lungs. In some cases, various skin problems such as allergy and skin and ear infections are present.

Dogs at Risk
Most common in younger dogs, especially females.

Treatment
Medical

Related Disorders
Food hypersensitivity
Hypocholesterdemia
Inflammatory bowel disease
Lipogranulomatous lymphangitis
Lymphgiectasia
Panhypoproteinemia
Protein losing nephropathy
Thromboembolic

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS !! I hadn't seen it either - but in light of poor Sammi and all the Liver Shunt we see here - this is very very good information !!
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Do you have any information on the treatment of this disease?

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs...a.2000.217.703

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...giectasia.html
This is the best I could do.

Excellent information. I have heard of it although have not experienced it.

Lorraine perhaps you know.. How common is this problem?

Hi, I have heard of only the odd cases but it is also hard to know the actual numbers due to some that may have been misdiagnosed as something else and the dog or puppy died before anything further could be discovered.
The ones I heard about did not survive.
I will be talking to my Vet on Friday and he is very interested in all these things in various breeds so he could likely give me an idea how prevalent it would be in YOrkies or what breeds it may be showing up moreso.
The other issue of course, is that really it has been maybe the last five years or so that much of this has been diagnosed or able to be diagnosed with the use of diagnostic equipment that is pretty accessible to the world of Veterinary medicine.
That's why you are able to know so much more about Liver shunts, other liver disease issues either genetic or congenital, heart conditions, gastrointestinal issues such as this one, and the myriad of issues that can affect our companion animals.
It has not been that many years either that OFA has been around for xraying hips and elbows on breeds that have hip displasia issues such as labs and Golden Retrievers. The Veterinarians that certifiy OFA have to be specially trained for it.
A lot of these diseases hava been around for years but it would not have been known what happened when a dog or puppy died from something like liver shunt for example.

wow... you know all of those signs u siad my madda had them.... I sometimes wonder if it really was parvo... I guessI am just second guessing myself, but truly those signs were alot similiar..

Oh I remember you just lost Madda recently. It is possible she was misdiagnosed. Unfortunately, Vets are not all up to par on some of these things and often will think something is Parvo that is not. They also don't realize some of the signs of Parvo can be the same as a different problem.
This is what I mean that some can die from this stuff but have been misdiagnosed as something else.
I can't see a dog dying of Parvo that had their vaccinations done. If there was a vaccine problem there are always many affected not just one dog.

I'm wondering about this now...this is exactly what Boog went through when he was sick, he lost protien through the GI tract, had lots of fluid in his abdomen that had to be drained off or he had to take Lasix ro remove it and he had several plasma transfusions over the last couple years he was here. No matter what they did he would be well for a couple months and then he would get sick again. The vet thought he had Lymphangiectasia (sp?) but they were never really positive that's what it was...he was also tested for Cushing's and, I forgot the name, but it's the opposite of Cushing's along with so many other things...it seems like the tests were endless. This started with him in '01 or '02 and we lost him in '04...he was 12 years young and still acted like a puppy until this hit him.

Addison's is the opposite of Cushing's disease. Addison's is easier to treat in that you only need to give them the two steroids normally produced by the Adrenal gland to keep them on even keel, the mineralcoricoid daily plus some prednisone. Cushings and Addison's both will throw off the ratio of potassium/sodium creating havoc and death. Addisons left undiagnosed will quickly result in kidney failure and death.
Cushings is harder to treat as there is too much steroid ( I believe if I recall correctly) being produced by the body. Cushings can occur in older dogs. Addison's, when it occurs, is more common in females usually between about 4 and 5 years old.
I am not sure if protein losing enteropathy can occur at any age or is more risk to show up in younger, older or any age dogs.
As I recall the cases I heard of were under a year of age but I don't know if it can occur in older dogs as well.

Yes, Addison's was the other one...he was negative for both of them and everything else they tested for...Boog was 8 or 9 when all of this started but he did have digestive issues (along with many other health issues) all of his life.