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The Effect of Vitamin D in Chronic Enteropathy

Background The digestive tract is responsible for the absorption of nutrients and the elimination of waste; hence with chronic enteropathies (CE) and especially protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) these diseases can severely impact a patient’s health and may even result in death.  Studies in companion animals have shown that patients with CE and PLE have low stores […] Read more »

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CRP/Albumin Ratio (CAR) – A disease severity index

C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and albumin have long been used independently as markers for prognosis.  Patients with either high inflammation or low albumin have tended to have worse outcomes.  The use of the C-reactive protein/ albumin ratio (CAR) is growing in human medicine as a prognostic index for disease severity. With the growing use of CRP […] Read more »

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Cancer Risk Assessment for dogs

Background: Early detection of disease allows for more treatment options and often results in better outcomes. Canine cancer is unfortunately a disease that can stay well hidden for a long time before becoming clinically evident, far into development. The Cancer Risk Assessment (CRA) is a blood test to screen apparently healthy dogs for early signs […] Read more »

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Use of TK1/CRP to monitor cancer therapy in dogs

As tumors advance they become more poorly differentiated.  This results in a higher rate of incomplete cell cycle replication (dysregulated replication), higher tumor burden, and a higher rate of cell growth.  All three of these factors increase TK1 levels substantially.  Further, since inflammation is a functional part of tumor metastasis, cCRP also increases.  Together, they […] Read more »

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Use of TK1/CRP in various Canine Cancers

Published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Selting et al. examined the use of thymidine kinase, type 1 (TK1) and canine specific C-reactive protein (cCRP) in a wide range of hematological and solid tumors. There were 253 tumor-bearing dogs and 156 without cancer. Cancer: Dysregulated Proliferation TK1, an enzyme responsible for the production of thymidine […] Read more »

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Integrating CRP into routine practice

In dogs, C-reactive protein (CRP) is a major acute phase protein produced in response to inflammation and the release of cytokines.   It has been shown to be an effective measure of general inflammation.  Inflammation is involved in both the initiation and propagation of many disease processes.  While non-specific, it is very sensitive to developing problems. […] Read more »

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Inflammation & Vaccination – Improve vaccine efficacy

Background Vaccinations activate the adaptive immune process to provide lasting immunity to disease.  Dogs and cats get vaccinated to a wide range of pathogens with the goal of high antibody titers and long duration of immunity (DOI).  While generally successful, there are times vaccinations FAIL, or fail to provide the desired DOI. Vaccination failures and low DOI […] Read more »

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CRP & Cardiac Disease

CRP Is Elevated In Cardiac Disease Inflammation plays a key role in a wide variety of cardiac diseases.  In human medicine, the measurement of high-sensitivity CRP is used to predict the future development of heart disease (1,2). Similarly, an elevated inflammatory response (and hence CRP) is found in dogs.  Researchers have documented significant elevations of CRP in […] Read more »

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C-Reactive Protein & Infections

C-reactive protein (CRP), a general marker of the inflammatory response, correlates directly with both the severity and duration of the inflammatory stimulation.  One of the strongest responses is to an infection. Two recent publications demonstrate that CRP is useful to: Detect infections 6 days post-op Differentiate suppurative arthritis and osteoarthritis Detecting Post-Op Infections Reporting sensitivity/specificity […] Read more »

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CRP/Albumin Ration (CAR) as an outcome predictor in cancer patients

Background The C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) is quickly finding ground as an outcome predictor in cancer. In both human and veterinary medicine, cancer mortality or complications arising from cancer is of major concern. In human medicine the use of CAR has been studied and found to be predictive of poor outcomes in a wide range of cancers, […] Read more »