Description
Canine chronic inflammatory enteropathy remains challenging to diagnose, due to non-pathognomonic clinical signs, the need for a plethora of tests to rule out CIE mimics, the questionable utility of intestinal biopsies beyond demonstration of inflammation vs. neoplasia and the paucity of tests that can predict response to treatment or prognosis. However, the field of biomarkers - defined as indicators of biological processes - is growing. They are biochemical markers of inflammation or functional markers, and they can be used in serum or faecal samples. Some of them have been extrapolated from human medicine (for example C-reactive protein or calprotectin) with mixed success. Some are targeting inflammatory mechanisms unique to canine CIE (markers of eosinophils, mast cell degeneration or autoimmunity), and some are well-established in veterinary practice (serum B-vitamins and measures of intestinal dysbiosis). Novel and emerging markers are targeting local or systemic regulation of gene and protein expression (like microRNAs), with the particular promising aim to differentiate inflammation from neoplasia noninvasively, with other studies also assessing the use of novel functional inflammation markers - like Granzyme B - for the use in dogs with CIE
Learning Objectives
- Revising current strategies to diagnose and treat CIE in dogs
- Understanding the definition and potential of biomarkers in the context of canine CIE
- Detailing the current landscape of biomarkers available to the veterinary practitioner in this context
- Assessing the dangers of using biomarkers and full substitutes for evidence-based diagnostic workups
- Awareness of future targets and developments for biomarkers in small animal CIE
