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Transient metabolic hyperammonaemia in young Irish wolfhounds
H P Meyer1, J Rothuizen, I Tiemessen
1Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
The Veterinary Record
|February 3, 1996
Summary
Inherited portosystemic shunts in Irish wolfhounds cause high ammonia levels. Most hyperammonaemia in pups is transient and metabolic, not due to shunting.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Canine Genetics
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Inherited portosystemic shunts affect 2-3% of Irish wolfhounds, often causing high venous ammonia and hepatic encephalopathy.
- Many Irish wolfhound pups exhibit hyperammonaemia even without clinical signs of hepatic encephalopathy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if low-grade portosystemic shunting causes elevated ammonia in healthy Irish wolfhound pups.
- To investigate the persistence of hyperammonaemia into adulthood in this breed.
Main Methods:
- Measured fasting venous ammonia concentration and shunt index (SI) in 42 Irish wolfhound pups.
- Conducted post-mortem examinations on dogs with high SI values.
- Re-measured ammonia concentrations in 25 adult Irish wolfhounds.
Main Results:
- Eleven of 42 pups had portosystemic shunts (high SI) with a mean ammonia of 249 mumol/L.
- Thirty-one pups without shunts (normal SI) had a mean ammonia of 93 mumol/L.
- Hyperammonaemia in pups with ammonia < 120 mumol/L resolved by adulthood (mean 17 mumol/L).
Conclusions:
- Irish wolfhounds with ammonia concentrations > 125 mumol/L likely have portosystemic shunts.
- Hyperammonaemia below 120 mumol/L in young Irish wolfhounds is typically transient and metabolic, not indicative of shunting.