Addison's disease - a detailed overview of the disease in dogs

What kind of syndrome is this?

Addison's disease or hypocortisolism is a complex endocrine disease. Its essence is the pathologically insufficient production of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid hormones by the adrenal cortex.

The adrenal glands maintain the required level of hormones in the dog’s body. Any disease that directly affects these endocrine glands immediately affects the entire body as a result.

In Addison's disease, the adrenal glands produce catastrophically little steroid hormones, in particular cortisol. And this hormone affects the entire metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Accordingly, for the optimal balance of glucose in the blood. With hypocortisolism, potassium is rapidly removed from the dog's body, sodium is retained - all biochemical parameters of the blood are severely disturbed.

Caring for a sick animal

As we have already said, your dog will constantly need the administration of hormonal medications. Never skip doses of the drug or change the dose or manufacturer without consulting your veterinarian.

Symptoms

In world veterinary medicine, this disease has been called the “great simulator” for several decades. This rather strange name for medicine is due to a single factor: when diagnosing hypocortisolism, the pathology can be mistaken for any other problem.

All but one of the symptoms are so nonspecific that most deaths occur from this cause. A dog with Addison's disease may be treated for infections, gastrointestinal problems, or even hypothyroidism with hyperthyroidism.

What do the signs of pathology look like:

chronic vomiting and diarrhea (feces are often dark in color);
signs of dehydration;
weak pulse;
significant weight loss (the dog’s bones begin to protrude);
lack of appetite;
muscle tremors;
increased thirst;
frequent urination;
sluggish apathetic state;
hypovolemic shock is the only symptom characteristic of Addison's disease.

With the exception of the last sign, which, unfortunately, already signals the dog’s state of borderline between life and death, all previous symptoms tend to disappear for a certain time. Then they necessarily appear again, and this nuance can be used as an additional hint in independently confirming the diagnosis.

Attention. If the dog has entered a state of hypovolemic shock (unconsciousness, stupor), it must be taken to a veterinary clinic as soon as possible. In such a situation, without emergency resuscitation, the probability of death within a few minutes is extremely high.

Symptoms of Addison's disease in dogs

The insidiousness of the disease lies in the fact that due to unclear symptoms, the owner does not immediately pay attention to the dog’s health problems. Nonspecific clinical signs make early detection of pathology difficult. However, veterinarians and experienced breeders advise owners to pay attention to the following symptoms in the animal:

Lethargy, weakness, reluctance to do exercises, refusal of long walks, active games. In advanced cases, the dog experiences a severe depressive state up to the development of lethargy.
Decreased appetite. Against the background of feed refusal, the decrease in live weight progresses. The animal loses weight, and in advanced cases severe exhaustion is observed.
The coat is dry and disheveled. The skin is dry, and in some cases dandruff can be detected.
The owner often observes increased thirst in the pet.
As water consumption increases, urinary function increases. The dog often asks to go outside.
In some cases, a sick dog experiences digestive disorders in the form of constant diarrhea and constipation. Blood may be found in the feces. Vomiting often occurs due to intoxication of the body.
In a dog suffering from hypoadrenocoricism, the owner may notice signs of pain in the peritoneal area. The dog moves away when trying to stroke its belly, squeals, whines or even bares its teeth.
Problems with the respiratory system are expressed in heavy breathing, sudden shortness of breath.
Many sick pets exhibit hypothermia.
A sharp decrease in blood glucose, characteristic of hypoadernocorticism, leads to convulsions and coma.

Causes of hypoadrenocorticism

Hypocortisolism is a congenital chronic disease with signs of heredity. There are no scientifically proven reasons for the appearance of this pathology in dogs.

What is important: a puppy born with Addison’s disease is absolutely no different in appearance from its healthy brothers or sisters. It will remain active, develop and gain weight until the entire 10% reserve of the healthy part of the adrenal cortex is exhausted.

This is the amount of active unaffected tissue that is preserved at the birth of an initially sick animal. This asymptomatic period can last from birth to 3-6 months.

Predisposition

Many sources indicate a direct breed predisposition to hypocortisolism. For example, Great Danes, Rottweilers, Border Collies and Poodles are most often considered at risk. However, most practicing veterinarians assure that patients with this disease include absolutely any breed, including many of those that are not on any such list.

But what is reliably characteristic of selective predisposition is the young age of the dogs (up to 1.5 - 2 years) and the female gender of the individual.

What is the danger?

With the exception of isolated cases, a dog with Addison's disease arrives at the veterinary clinic already in a state of hypovolemic shock. And the real danger here lies solely in how quickly the owner delivers the animal to the clinic, and how well the doctor’s resuscitation actions are thought out, adequate and ultimately effective.

What breeds are predisposed to the disease?

The disease most often occurs in young and middle-aged females. Most often - about 4 years.

The disease may be present in some family lines:

regular poodles;
West Highland White Terriers;
Great Danes;
bearded collies;
Portuguese water dogs (Can Diagua);
and a number of other breeds.

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Treatment

Addison's disease occurs in two forms. The first form is atypical. There is an acute deficiency of glucocorticoids in the body.

The second form is typical. In this case, the dog suffers from a minimum of both glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids at the same time. Such differential diagnosis is extremely important for further prescription of adequate therapy.

To make a correct diagnosis, it is necessary to collect the most complete history from the owner, take and carefully analyze a biochemical blood test from the dog. Equally important are: ECG, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity (in some cases) and a stimulation test with ACTH (artificial administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone).

If a dog with hypocortisolism is brought to the clinic already in a state of crisis, urgent resuscitation procedures are necessary to:

infusion therapy (first of all, to restore dehydration of the body);
correction of electrolyte disturbances;
elimination of hyperkalemia (introduce insulin and glucose in one mixture);
correction of hyponatremia;
blood transfusion (for hemorrhagic anemia);
eliminating hypoglycemia;
use of colloidal solutions;
elimination of severe metabolic acidosis.

Fludrocorizone, Prednisolone and Dexamethasone are among the most popular drugs used as replacement therapy throughout a dog’s life.

Important. The main difficulty in diagnosis will arise if it turns out that hormone deficiency is caused not only by a primary lesion of the adrenal cortex, but also by a secondary lesion of the pituitary gland. In this case, the test results will be falsely normal.

Signs of Addison's disease in dogs

Addison's disease (hypoadrenocorticism) is one of the common pathological conditions of the endocrine system of dogs. Endocrine disease occurs due to autoimmune and infectious lesions of the adrenal glands or due to disruption of the pituitary gland in the synthesis of adrenocorticotropic hormones.

Pathology can also develop due to long-term use of glucocorticoid drugs. Dogs aged 3 months to 12 years are most at risk.

Treatment of Addison's disease in dogs

Treatment with folk remedies at home can lead to exacerbation of the disease and even death. Therefore, it is so important to contact a veterinarian in a timely manner.

The methods and course of treatment for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs largely depend on at what stage of the disease the veterinarian made an accurate diagnosis. In most cases, unfortunately, dog breeders seek veterinary help when their pet is in a neglected state. For the typical form of endocrine disease, the following treatment methods are recommended.

Infusion therapy

Treatment involves intradermal (intravenous) infusion or drip administration of solutions to relieve general intoxication, normalize acid-base balance and water-electrolyte balance, restore the volume of normally circulating blood, and provide the canine body with energy and plastic substrates.

Symptoms of the disease

Among the typical signs characteristic of the initial stage of the disease:

poor appetite
diarrhea,
vomit,
increased thirst,
frequent urination,
sudden weight loss,
depressive state.

As the pathological condition develops, the animal may experience:

hair loss,
low body temperature,
pale gums,
weak pulse
attacks of shortness of breath,
pain in the abdominal area,
blood in stool
lethargy.

If any of the above symptoms appear, you should immediately seek veterinary help. A professional veterinarian will prescribe diagnostic measures to make an accurate diagnosis and course of treatment.