Today's Veterinary Practice

JAN-FEB 2018

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

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29 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 ● TVPJOURNAL.COM CONTINUING EDUCATION Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Dogs and Cats Kayode Garraway, DVM Karin Allenspach, DVM, PhD, DECVIM-CA Albert Jergens, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM) Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial disease of dogs and cats characterized by chronic enteropathies that can significantly impact quality of life. These enteropathies are usually thought of as being food responsive, antibiotic responsive, steroid responsive, or refractory, regardless of immunosuppressive therapies (idiopathic IBD). Histologically, the small intestine, large intestine, or both can be affected. Lymphocytes and plasmacytes are the most common cell infiltrates within the lamina propria of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; eosinophils, macrophages, and neutrophils can also be appreciated, but less frequently. Although the exact etiologies of IBD are unknown, multiple factors can contribute to this persistent disease state. A confounding issue is that many healthy dogs and cats are exposed to similar factors relative to animals affected by IBD, but never become affected. This article summarizes and discusses the believed influences on gut inflammation, potential diagnostics, treatment options, and clinical outcomes in light of the most recent literature available. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH GASTROINTESTINAL INFLAMMATION Factors currently believed to be associated with GI inflammation include: ■ Genetics ■ The mucosal immune system and immune responses ■ Environmental factors ■ Microbial factors 1,2 These have been evidenced by human, mouse, canine, and feline models. 1–13 shutterstock.com/Chendongshan CREATURE DISCOMFORTS Inflammatory bowel diseases are the most common cause of chronic vomiting and diarrhea in dogs and cats. The term IBD is used to describe a group of conditions characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and persistent or recurrent GI signs.. CONTINUING EDUCATION CONTINUING EDUCATION GASTROENTEROLOGY

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