Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy Research Papers

Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy is a bone disease that occurs mainly in fast growing large breed dogs. This disease is characterized by decreased blood flow to the metaphysis, which leads to the failure of ossification of the bone, and the necrosis and inflammation of cancellous bone. Breeds such as the Weimaraner, Irish Setter, Boxer, German Shepherd, and Great Dane breeds are typically heavily represented in case reports of Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy in the veterinary literature, but the degree and severity of symptoms as well as possible causes may be different across the breeds. For example, some breeds, such as the Weimaraner, seem to have familial clustering of the disease, but that is not seen in other breeds. The typical age of onset is
Meier et al. (1957) assumed that a deficiency in Vitamin C would cause the animal to develop rickets or scurvy as it does in humans. When radiology was used in order to diagnose the disease, the lesions found were very similar to those used to diagnose clinical rickets. However, as this disease progresses, the lesions extend along the bone and spread to other areas of the body, which rules out the diagnosis of rickets. When running blood panels, it was found that the value for Vitamin C was low, Vitamin C therapy was then conducted, and no results were or improvement until growth had ceased. Vitamin C was administered intramuscularly or orally. While the blood levels would rise temporarily, it would not raise the serum levels to normal nor would it provide remedy or relief to the dogs. It was noted, that the Vitamin C levels rose to normal when the animal was no longer ill, which was usually when they reached adulthood. “It was hypothesized that since the ascorbic acid levels did not persist, the vitamin C given was destroyed, excreted, or utilized more rapidly than normal” (Meier et al. p.
Using the same three groups of Great Dane puppies during the calcium study, it was noted that some supplementations had been fortified with Vitamin D. This form of Vitamin D is often the irradiated form, where one milligram is equal to roughly fourteen teaspoons of cod liver oil in their metabolic capabilities. Vitamin D toxicity depends mostly on the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. “Each increase in the diet of calcium results in an increased severity of hypervitaminosis D. The greater the amount of calcium available for absorption, the greater the hypercalcemia and metastatic calcification” (Riser & Shirer. p. 63). If the amount of Vitamin D is increased without also increasing the level of calcium, calcium from the cortical bone will be drawn out to provide the blood calcium levels required. When they found a Great Dane puppy at 7 months old with Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy that exhibited ossification of the endocardium, aorta and kidneys, it verified the idea that Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy is caused by Vitamin D