Clinical Edge, Oct 1, 2004

Introduction

A closer look at canine osteoarthritis

By Dottie P. Laflamme, DVM, PhD, DACVN

Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is the most prevalent joint disorder in dogs. Mild osteoarthritis may cause subtle gait changes or intermittent lameness. As osteoarthritis severity progresses, the dog may become less active, show visible lameness, experience difficulty rising or lying down, express pain, or experience difficulty posturing to urinate or defecate.

The Basics

Canine Osteoarthritis: Understanding the etiology, clinical presentation, and diagnosis

By Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, MS, DACVS

Osteoarthritis is the most common rheumatic disease encountered in small animal practice. No longer is osteoarthritis regarded as a simple consequence of aging and cartilage degeneration, but rather, the pathologic changes of osteoarthritis may result from active biochemical and biomechanical processes partly due to disturbances of the homeostatic mechanisms of anabolic and catabolic pathways. As to the cause of osteoarthritis, there is no one etiology and its cause may be multifactorial. While there are many initiating causes, osteoarthritis is an irreversible process that often results in an end-stage clinical syndrome of the joint.

Genomics and molecular biology

Osteoarthritis and its origins: Disease development at the cellular and molecular level

By Rondo P. Middleton, PhD , Steven S. Hannah, PhD

While osteoarthritis is perceived as a structural disease, the underlying pathology and chronic changes occur at a cellular and molecular level. In this article, we will discuss recent research involving the molecular mechanisms involved in osteoarthritis and newer opportunities for treatment. Key to this knowledge are research tools emerging from the scientific disciplines of functional genomics and molecular biology.

Weight loss

Weight loss increases ground reactive force in overweight dogs with osteoarthritis

By William J. Burkholder, DVM, PhD, DACVN , Lathrop Taylor, PhD , Donald A. Hulse, DVM, DACVS

A comprehensive weight-loss program that returns overweight dogs to optimal body weight and body condition can improve osteoarthritic dogs' ability to move more normally. In a study conducted at Texas A&M University, moderately overweight to obese dogs lost weight through a combination of a weight-management diet and increased exercise. Based on force-plate gait analysis, the dogs exerted significantly more force on each limb and moved more quickly. The abstract below, published in the proceedings of the 2000 Purina Nutrition Forum, provides additional details.

Dietary fatty acids

The role of fatty acids in the management of osteoarthritis

By Mark Waldron, PhD

Osteoarthritis is a chronic and potentially debilitating disease involving the disruption of metabolic homeostasis within the articular chondrocyte. Specifically, osteoarthritis involves an increased ratio of cartilage-degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs) to their normal inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). It is the imbalance of TIMPs and MMPs that contributes to the pathologic breakdown of cartilage. Dietary fatty acids can help to correct this imbalance by modulating the production of inflammatory mediators.

Canine hip dysplasia

New hope for old hips

By Gail K. Smith, VMD, PhD

Osteoarthritis is a common, often-debilitating disease of both animals and humans. It may involve any joint, but the joints most clinically affected are the hip, elbow, shoulder, knee, and spine. It is estimated that one in five dogs will show obvious signs of pain from osteoarthritis; in many more dogs, however, the signs will be subtle or subclinical. In dogs, the most common form of osteoarthritis is canine hip dysplasia. The radiographic prevalence of canine hip dysplasia is as high as 75% in some breeds and the disease can cause pain and dysfunction in affected animals.

Dietary management

Osteoarthritis and diet: Joined at the hip

By Dottie P. Laflamme, DVM, PhD, DACVN

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most prevalent joint disorder in dogs, affecting as many as 20% of adult dogs. Osteoarthritis is associated with inflammation and increased degradation or loss of proteoglycans from the extracellular matrix, resulting in a morphologic breakdown in articular cartilage.