Hormonal problemes

HORMONAL DISEASES

Diabetes (Diabetes mellitus)

Introduction:

The body regulates the blood sugar and carbohydrate balance using several hormones. Low blood glucose levels also incompatible with life in the short term but you can use a variety of hormones to increase them. However, you can only lower your blood glucose levels with insulin alone.

Symptoms:

A sustained rise in blood sugar leads to operational problems in many organs, and therefore the symptoms are manifested. The most prominent symptoms are: an increase in drinking (and consequent increase in urination) sweet-smelling breath, lethargy, initial obesity followed by weight loss (chronic disease), hair loss, secondary cystitis, dyskinesia, cataract formation, and shortness of breath.

Diagnosis:

Diabetes is diagnosed with blood and urine tests.

Treatment:

In milder cases a change in dietary nutrition may be sufficient but, in severe cases, insulin therapy is needed. Of course, secondary problems should also be addressed.

Hypothyroidism

Introduction:

The underdevelopment of the thyroid gland is one of the most common hormonal diseases in dogs, however it is rare in cats. Thyroid hormones affect the strength of the body's general metabolism, and its metabolic processes slow down when these hormones are decreased. In dogs, hypothyroidism is most commonly caused by the thyroid gland, however there may rarely be secondary hypothyroidism when the pituitary gland fails to produce enough thyroid stimulating hormone.

Symptoms:

The most prominent symptoms in a hypothyroid dog include: lethargy, lower heart rate, exercise intolerance, and weight gain without a corresponding increase in appetite. It is also very common to see symmetrical body hair loss and the characteristic tail hair loss ("rat-tail"), decrease in hair quality, and thickening of the skin.

Diagnosis:

This disease can only be diagnosed with blood tests.

Treatment:

In general, the animal will require a thyroid hormone replacement compound until the end of its life, with which the symptoms can be completely recovered from.

Cushing's Disease (Hyperadrenocorticism)

Introduction:

The disease develops from an increase in cortisol, as a side effect of an overactive adrenal cortex (central and peripheral form) or occasionally as a result of prolonged steroid treatment. Generally disease processes in the pituitary gland cause an increased production of adrenocorticotropic hormone, which is called primary or centralized hyperadrenocorticism. Less commonly, the disease is caused by an adrenal gland, which is called secondary or peripheral hyperadrenocorticism.

Symptoms:

All three cases occur as a result of high steroid levels in the body. Typical symptoms include: increased drinking and urination, enlarged abdominal region, muscle weakness, symmetrical hair loss, thinning skin, susceptibility to infections.

Diagnosis:

Blood and urine tests are used to determine the body's cortisol levels. For accurate diagnosis of the disease or to detect the form, hormone loading tests and stimulation tests may also be used. Abdominal ultrasounds are also important, to differentiate between the central and the peripheral form, and evaluate any steroid-induced liver damage.

Treatment:

After a precise diagnosis is made, there are treatment options available today. Medicines are now available for the most common, central, form. The peripheral form may require surgical correction. Disease caused by excessive steroid intake can often be solved with a gradual decrease of the drug. In all three cases additional treatments may be required, such as liver medicines or immune enhancers, and treatment of any secondary infections (e.g. skin infections, bladder infections, etc.).