VitDAL published a case report this week which describes how the lab helped diagnose a case of profound hypovitaminosis D in Cocker Spaniel who presented to the Hospital for Small Animals with a history of a seizure. After further tests, we diagnosed a severe intestinal disorder called a protein losing enteropathy (PLE) following endoscopic examination and biopsy of his intestines. As shown in the image, the architecture of the small intestine was highly abnormal and the biospies revealed a marked inflammatory infiltrate which had significantly disrupted the structure of the intestines. The PLE led to a failure to absorb enough vitamin D to maintain plasma calcium concentration within the normal range which eventually dropped to a sufficiently low level to cause a seizure. Following the rapid identification of the vitamin D deplete state by VitDAL, we were able to successfully treat the dog and are very pleased to report an excellent to therapy with no further seizures and dramatically improved gastrointestinal signs.
The case report can be accessed at the following link