Endocrinology

The hypothalamus secretes thyrotropin-releasing hormone in response to nervous stimuli.

Hypoadrenocorticism occurs as a result of a deficiency in glucocorticoids and, in some cases, mineralocorticoids.

Understanding hyperadrenocorticism and hyperaldosteronism

An 8-year-old 46.3-lb (21-kg) female spayed mixed-breed dog was referred to the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for evaluation of lethargy, inappetence, weight loss, and alopecia of several months' duration.

A brief review of the diagnosis and treatment of hyperadrenocorticism and the current knowledge on trilostane, including its therapeutic considerations and possible adverse effects.

Q: Could you update the diagnosis and management of atypical hyperadrenocorticism?

"The advantage of trilostane seems to be a much higher safety profile than Lysodren with an equal efficacy rate."

The EPA has reported a possible connection between brominated flame retardants commonly found in the home and the recent upsurge in this thyroid disease in cats.

National Report - A potential connection between feline hyperthyroidism (FH) and a flame-retardant chemical found in common household products, house dust and some food items may exist, concludes a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study.

Dr. Bruyette discusses which thyroid function tests to use to diagnose hypothyroidism in dogs and hyperthyroidism in cats.

Hyperlipidemia is the increased concentration of triglyceride (hypertriglyceridemia), cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), or both in the blood.

Underlying causes of diabetes mellitus, a common endocrinopathy in dogs and cats, include chronic pancreatic inflammation, pancreatic atrophy, and immune-mediated destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells.

Dr. David Bruyette discusses how to optimize adrenal function testing, plus information on how to use cosyntropin.

This internist embraces advances in diagnostics as well as comparative medicine. However, "One thing I hope never changes," he says, "is our reliance on history taking and physical examinations."

Dr. Washabau discusses the risk factors for pancreatitis in dogs.

Primary hypoparathyroidism is most commonly caused by the destruction or removal of the parathyroid glands.

In this article, we review the differential diagnoses in patients with hypocalcemia, the diagnostic testing to investigate clinical signs consistent with hypocalcemia, and the treatment of primary hypoparathyroidism.

"Veterinarians need to direct their own profession," says this professor and endocrinologist. "If we do not take responsibility for how veterinary medicine is practiced, we may find out that we are no longer making the decisions."

On Dec. 31, 2005, Eli Lilly discontinued four of its insulin products: Humulin L Lente insulin, Humulin U Ultralente insulin, Regular Iletin II pork insulin, and NPH Iletin II pork insulin. Our challenges are to switch patients currently receiving these products to comparable insulin preparations and to change our treatment approach in newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus cases.

Hyperthyroidism can be diagnosed in most cats based on clinical signs consistent with the disease, physical examination findings including a palpable thyroid nodule and an increased serum total T4 concentration.

Veterinarians often overlook the urinary tract when evaluating patients for endocrine diseases.

Because evidence points to surgical neutering as an important risk factor for hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets, we reviewed the literature to find current and possible future alternatives to surgically neutering ferrets.

Since it was first documented in 1979, hyperthyroidism has become increasingly more common in cats.

In this article, I describe the most common clinical signs and physical examination findings in hyperthyroid cats. I also review the available diagnostic methods, including their advantages and disadvantages.

The options for treating feline hyperthyroidism include surgery, medical therapy, and radioiodine therapy.