{"id":1446598,"date":"2021-02-10T14:23:12","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T13:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging-wp-int.laboklin.com\/canine-gluten-sensitivity-is-this-coeliac-disease-in-dogs\/"},"modified":"2024-07-24T11:58:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T09:58:47","slug":"canine-gluten-sensitivity-is-this-coeliac-disease-in-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laboklin.com\/fi\/canine-gluten-sensitivity-is-this-coeliac-disease-in-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Canine gluten sensitivity \u2013 is this coeliac disease in dogs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]Human coeliac disease is a gluten-induced enteropathy characterised by a specific genetic genotype (HLA-DQ2\/HLA-DQ8 genes) and the detection of autoantibodies against gluten (Leonard et al. 2017).<\/p>\n

Gluten is the main storage protein of grains (wheat, rye, barley, spelt; Fig. 1) and a complex mixture of hundreds of similar yet slightly different proteins, especially gliadin and glutenin (Biesiekierski 2017).<\/p>\n

In humans, the clinical picture of coeliac disease was first described by Samuel Gee in 1887, although wheat was not identified as a possible trigger until about 60 years later, in 1941, by William Diecke (Diecke 1941).<\/p>\n

Clinically, those affected mainly suffer from malabsorption, diarrhoea and children mostly from growth disorders (Andersen 1947). Prevalence in the total population is about 1%, with regional differences (Husby et al. 2012).<\/p>\n

Two clinical pictures have been described that are associated with gluten intolerance in dogs. One is a symptom complex in Irish Setters with mainly digestive disorders, and the other is a clinical picture in Border Terriers mostly characterised by seizures.<\/p>\n

Recently, however, mixed forms of the clinical pictures have also received greater scientific attention (Lowrie 2017).<\/p>\n

In connection with gluten intake, digestive disorders with inappetence, chronic diarrhoea and weight loss as well as growth retardation in young animals have been described in Irish Setters similar to coeliac disease in humans. Usually, the onset of clinical signs is at the age of six months (Daminet 1996). Pathologically, increased intestinal permeability, partial villous atrophy and intraepithelial infiltration with lymphocytes can be detected. However, mucosal damage is typically less pronounced in Irish Setters than in people suffering from coeliac disease (Pemberton et al. 1997).<\/p>\n

This gluten sensitivity in dogs, which is associated with digestive problems, appears to be breed-specific to the Irish Setter (Daminet 1996) and, according to Garden et al. (2000), is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.<\/p>\n

After changing to a gluten-free diet, all clinical signs usually improve significantly and also immediately (Pemberton et al. 1997).<\/p>\n

Although elevated gliadin IgG antibody titres are detectable in people with coeliac disease and are also used as a screening test (Leonard et al. 2017), a first study by Hall et al. from 1992 did not measure any elevated gliadin IgG antibody titres in Irish Setters with gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Hall et al. (1992) speculated that immune complex binding may be a possible explanation for this. However, this connection, which so far has only been investigated in the study mentioned above, is questionable and should be examined more closely in further studies. This is because the test for the presence of antibodies could also be a valuable diagnostic tool for gluten-induced enteropathy in Irish Setters (manuscript in preparation).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t