Cushing's Disease Detected Through Hormone Levels in Dog Hair

Animal lovers want their pets to be happy and healthy. But sometimes, unexpected illnesses can get in the way.

One that can be particularly difficult to diagnosis, known as Cushing's disease, can greatly affect the quality of life for a cat or dog.

Also known as hyperadrenocorticism, this disease is usually seen in dogs that are six years old or older but can sometimes occur in younger dogs. Typically, cortisol will affect the function of many organs in the body, so tell-tale signs of Cushing's disease usually involve hair loss, pot-bellied appearance, increased appetite and increased drinking and urination called polydipsia and polyuria.  

According to a press release, one of the main problems with the diagnosis of Cushing's disease is that the symptoms appear only gradually, so owners and vets are likely to overlook them or to attribute them to health issues that occur during old age.

Fortunately, Colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, decided to look for a better way to monitor the long-term levels of glucocorticoids--the hormone that's known to be present in hair for humans, according to lead study author, Claudia Ouschan. According to the release, she believes that by measuring glucocorticoid concentrations in dog hair, diagnosing Cushing's disease can be much simpler and prevent other wrongful diagnoses.

The researchers worked to compare cortisol, corticosterone and cortisone levels in the hair of twelve dogs with hyperadrenocorticism and ten healthy dogs. Results showed that all three hormones were found at much higher levels in the hair of the dog's with Cushing's disease than in the dog's of the control group.

Researchers believe these findings are particularly important as measuring hormone levels in dog hair can be a key indicator for the disease.

More information regarding the study can be found in the paper "Measurement of cortisol in dog hair: a noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of hypercortisolism" in the journal Veterinary Dermatology.