A new study has found that the high concentration of ammonia in dogs with liver disease causes increased levels of inflammation.
Medicine clinicians from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Science and The Roslin Institute have found that liver disease in dogs causes their immune systems to go hay-wire resulting in high levels of inflammation, which in turn makes the dogs even sicker.
Liver disease in dogs is a major health issue. The reason for the disease is rarely known and treatments are largely supportive instead of treating the underlying cause. Alongside poor recovery rates, it can also have a severe effect on a dog’s quality of life.
Previous studies have shown that dogs with liver disease often have high levels of ammonia and inflammatory molecules in their systems, and that if you treat the underlying liver diseases, the concentration of both decrease. However, it was still unclear why dogs with liver disorders had this high level of inflammation.
This new study has found that the high concentrations of ammonia found in dogs with liver diseases causes the immune response to go unregulated. Although inflammation is a natural (and very useful) response to infection, when it is incorrectly activated it can cause huge issues within the body.
Follow the link to read the article in full on the University of Edinburgh website