title: Hepatic (64)Cu excretion in Dobermanns with subclinical hepatitis.
abstract: To investigate whether Dobermanns have impaired copper excretion an intravenous radioactive copper isotope ((64)Cu) was used as a tracer. Five patients and eight normal dogs (5 normal Dobermanns and 3 Beagles) were studied. The five female Dobermann patients had a subclinical hepatitis and an increased hepatic copper concentration (median 822mg/kg, range 690-1380mg/kg dry matter). The normal dogs, five Dobermanns and three Beagles, had no abnormal liver histopathology and hepatic copper concentrations were considered normal (Dobermanns; median 118mg/kg, range 50-242mg/kg dry matter; Beagles; median 82mg/kg, range 50-88mg/kg dry matter). Cholestasis was excluded in all dogs by means of a (99m)Tc-Bis-IDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy. Plasma clearance of (64)Cu was comparable in all dogs with no statistically significant differences. The excretion of (64)Cu into the bile, although not statistically significant, was less for the Dobermanns with subclinical hepatitis compared to the normal dogs. The findings suggest that impaired copper excretion may play a role in the aetiology of chronic hepatitis in the Dobermann.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Utrecht, Yalelaan 108, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands. p.j.j.mandigers@planet.nl
authors.forename: Paul J J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mandigers
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Ank M T C
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Wees
authors.forename: Walter E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: van den Brom
authors.forename: Ted S G A M
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: van den Ingh
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rothuizen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D006520:Hepatitis, Animal / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003300:Copper