Fasting hypertriglyceridaemia in healthy Australian Miniature Schnauzers

Troy A Bunn

Miniature Schnauzers are frequently affected by primary hypertriglyceridemia in North America. Data on the prevalence and causes of fasting hypertriglyceridaemia of this breed in other countries is lacking. Additionally, canine dyslipidaemias have been linked to certain diseases promoting a newfound interest to study lipoprotein profiles. Automated direct methods for the measurement of LDL and HDL-cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C) concentrations are available in humans and are readily accessible. To date, these have not been validated for use in dogs. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of fasting hypertriglyceridemia in Australian Miniature Schnauzers and estimate the proportions of primary and secondary hypertriglyceridemia. In addition, this study aimed to validate 1) an automated direct method for LDL-C and HDL-C concentrations and 2) a commercially available canine specific Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) ELISA kit. This study was a prospective cross-sectional study. Two hundred and fifteen healthy client-owned Australian Miniature Schnauzers were recruited. Fasting triglyceride concentrations were measured in all dogs. Forty of 215 dogs (18.6%; 95% CI: 14.0%-24.3%) had fasting HTG with majority of these being diagnosed with hyperadrenocorticism (79.4%; 95% CI: 63.5%-90.7%). This study showed that primary HTG was uncommon in the Australian Miniature Schnauzer population, with the majority of affected dogs being diagnosed with hyperadrenocorticism. Thorough exclusion of hyperadrenocorticism is warranted in Australian Miniature Schnauzers with fasting hypertriglyceridaemia. For the automated measurement of LDL- and HDL-C and the measurement of ApoB, precision and accuracy were assessed. The LDL- and HDL-C direct method on the COBAS INTEGRA® 400 plus analyser using the reagents LDLC3 and HDLC4 demonstrated adequate analytical performance. As such, further validation research is warranted to determine the clinical utility of the LDL-C and HDL-C concentrations. The ApoB ELISA produced by AFG Bioscience demonstrated unacceptable precision and accuracy and cannot be recommended to conduct future research.

Fasting hypertriglyceridaemia in healthy Australian Miniature Schnauzers

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