QUARTERLY BEAT / JULY 2025
April 1, 2025
March 26, 2025
Inflammatory Disease of the Nervous System by Dr. Missy Carpentier-Anderson, DACVIM (Neurology) • In veterinary patients, inflammatory disease of the nervous system is more commonly non-infectious (immune-mediated) in origin than infectious. • Patients with inflammatory disease of the nervous system frequently present with a multifocal neurolocalization. • Lateralization matters — if you have a forebrain patient, deficits on the right side of the body typically indicate a lesion in the left forebrain, and vice versa. • Nystagmus direction is a valuable clue; when the fast phase moves towards the side of the head tilt, suspect central vestibular disease. • Tight, rapid circling is present with hindbrain involvement, while large, wide circling is present with forebrain involvement. • In small breed dogs with neurologic signs, always consider inflammatory CNS disease among your top differentials. If the dog looks good in a purse, inflammatory disease of the nervous system needs to be on your list of differentials! • Patients with inflammatory disease of the nervous system often present painful due to the meningitis component of the disease pathology, however, patients with a pure myelitis, and no meningeal involvement, will often not be painful.
YouTube LIVE: Maintaining Appetite in Chronic Kidney Cats by Dr. Heather Kvitko-White, DACVIM • Chronic kidney disease alters the gut metabolism causing dysbiosis. Dysbiosis (like uremia itself) contributes to inflammation, anorexia, fibrosis, and ultimately, CKD progression. Both uremia and dysbiosis significantly impact drug metabolism and excretion. The combined result is that drugs accumulate to higher levels, increasing the risk of drug interactions and side effects like anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, and decreased gut motility. • Cats descend from desert-dwelling carnivores that evolved to require high-protein diets, making them highly susceptible to the effects of diet on symptoms of CKD. Principles include feeding a diet specifically formulated to be low in phosphorus and animal protein, yet with adequate amino acids to prevent malnutrition, and added anti-inflammatories (omega-3 FAs) and antioxidants to minimize membrane inflammation and prevent oxidative stress. • Oral phosphate binders are underutilized in feline CKD. While various types exist with no proven superiority, all are dietary supplements that must be administered with food to effectively reduce phosphorus absorption from the gut. Administer with the meal, not separately, and not at all if not eating.
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