Vitiligo in a cow apparently associated with hepatosis

Authors: Donald JJ, Clark P, Thompson KG
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 46, Issue 4, pp 163, Aug 1998
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures, Integument/skin/wool/hair/fur/feather, Liver/hepatic disease, Idiopathic disease, Inflammation, Trauma/injuries
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: We were interested by the letter entitled “Vitiligo in a cow apparently associated with hepatosis” (Yeruham et al., 1998). There are several points about this case that should be discussed. The authors use biochemical data to support their opinion that the vitiligo in the current case was caused by a hepatopathy. The concentrations of the enzymes used to assess the liver in the current case (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT)) were only mildly elevated above the authors` laboratory reference ranges and were within other published reference ranges for concentrations of these enzymes in cattle (Kaneko et al., 1997). Consequently, these results do not convincingly support the presence of an acute hepatopathy in the patient. The selection of enzymes used to assess the liver in this case is intriguing. Alanine aminotransferase is present in very low concentration in bovine hepatocytes and is generally considered unreliable as a marker of hepatocellular damage in cattle (Boyd, 1983). Lactate dehydrogenase is…

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