Therapy for feline secondary hypertriglyceridemia with fenofibrate

The aim of this study was to assess the short-term safety and efficacy of fenofibrate in controlling secondary hypertriglyceridemia in cats.

This was a prospective cohort study. Seventeen adult cats with hypertriglyceridemia (serum triglycerides [TG] >160 mg/dl) were enrolled. Cats received a median dose of 5 mg/kg (range 3.2-6) fenofibrate (q24h PO) for 1 month. Serum TG, total cholesterol (TC), creatine kinase and liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) were evaluated before (t0) and after 1 month (t1) of fenofibrate treatment.

The causes of secondary hypertriglyceridemia were diabetes mellitus (DM; 29.4%), obesity (29.4%), hyperadrenocorticism (HAC) and DM (11.7%), HAC without DM (5.9%), hypersomatotropism (HST) and DM (5.9%), hypothyroidism (5.9%), long-term treatment with glucocorticoids (5.9%) and chylothorax (5.9%). Serum TG (t0 median 920 mg/dl [range 237-1780]; t1 median 51 mg/dl [range 21-1001]; P = 0.0002) and TC (t0 median 278 mg/dl [range 103-502]; t1 median 156 mg/dl [range 66-244]; P = 0.0001) concentrations showed a significant decrease after 1 month of fenofibrate treatment. Fifteen cats normalized their TG concentration at t1 (88.2%). Of the eight cats that were hypercholesterolemic at t0, six (75%) normalized their TC concentrations at t1. One of 17 cats (5.9 %) presented with diarrhea; the remaining 16 did not show any adverse effects.

DM and obesity are the most common endocrine causes of secondary hyperlipidemia, although it can also be found in cats with HAC, HST or hypothyroidism. This study suggests that fenofibrate treatment was associated with reduction and normalization of TG and TC concentrations in cats with moderate and severe hypertriglyceridemia, regardless of the cause of secondary hypertriglyceridemia. Further work should focus on controlled studies with a greater number of cases.