Guest Editorial - Advances in companion animal gastroenterology

Authors: Squires RA
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 51, Issue 6, pp 251, Dec 2003
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cat, Companion animal, Dog
Subject Terms: Abdomen, Alimentary system/gastroenterology, Bacterial, Inflammation, Disease/defect
Article class: Editorial

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Abstract: This issue of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal is dedicated to a Feature Review Series comprising five invited review articles on the theme, “Advances in companion animal gastroenterology.” Topics have been chosen and coordinated by guest editors, Professor Grant Guilford and Associate Professor Richard Squires from the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University, New Zealand. We are delighted to publish this special issue focused on a companion animal theme, drawing on both national and international authorities on this important field of companion animal medicine and research. Ed.
Advances in companion animal gastroenterology
This third Feature Review Series to be published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal is the first to deal with a companion animal topic. It is no surprise that we have chosen canine and feline gastroenterology as our theme. New Zealand-trained veterinarians have contributed significantly to this field over recent years (see Jones 2002), including production of a standard textbook on the subject (Guilford 1996). Significant contributions to knowledge in this field continue to be made by New Zealanders, both here and overseas.
As every companion animal veterinarian knows, gastrointestinal disorders are prevalent in dogs and cats and show no sign of becoming less important. Although attendant clinical signs are all too familiar, the underlying mechanisms of disease remain, in many cases, rather mysterious.
The first review article in this issue is on viral gastrointestinal diseases and aims to update readers on selected topical aspects of the more important canine and feline gastrointestinal illnesses caused by viruses. Such is the pace of viral evolution that substantial changes in disease patterns and the emergence of completely new gastrointestinal diseases may be seen during the course of a career. This dynamism of veterinary virology makes it a particularly appealing and interesting field to study.
Next, in a challenging article entitled “Chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract of companion animals”, Nick Cave from the University of California, Davis, brings his considerable understanding of immunology to bear on a group of frequently encountered gastrointestinal disorders that remain poorly understood. Careful scrutiny of this article will enable readers to grasp what is known so far, and to glimpse tantalising prospects for future diagnosis and therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases. This article will also enable readers who feel relatively uninformed about recent advances in immunology to appreciate what a remarkably intricate and refined bureaucracy is the immune system!
In their article on “Gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs”, Cameron Broome and Vicki Walsh from Massey University provide us with a broad and up-to-date overview of what is known about the epizootiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of this often-fatal and surprisingly prevalent disease. Although complete understanding of aetiological factors remains elusive, much of practical significance has been learned about this disease in recent years and these authors have done an excellent job of distilling recent new knowledge.
In an article on “The nutritional management of gastrointestinal tract disorders in companion animals” we join Grant Guilford and Mike Matz from Massey University, on a journey from oesophagus to rectum, considering nutritional approaches to adjunctive or definitive management of diseases that occur in the various anatomical sections of the alimentary tract. The section dealing with adverse reactions to food is extensive and will update the reader on protein hydrolysate diets. An introduction to probiotics and prebiotics is also provided.
Finally, the article entitled “Laboratory procedures for diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract diseases of dogs and cats”, also by Mike Matz and Grant Guilford, provides an update on diagnostic tests for gastrointestinal disease that require submission of samples to the veterinary clinical laboratory. While a number of relatively new diagnostic tests are described, a particular strength of this paper is its emphasis on improved ways of interpreting the results of more familiar tests. For example, we learn that low serum cobalamin is found relatively commonly in cats with gastrointestinal disease and appears to be a more specific indicator of gastrointestinal disease in cats than in dogs.
Having read these articles, it is intriguing to consider where the field of companion animal gastroenterology may be headed. It seems to me that the areas of gut immunology and ‘interventional’ nutrition (i.e., functional foods) are particularly important and converging towards a nexus. The fledgling field of immunonutrition (broadly defined as the use of dietary components in an attempt to modulate immune function) is presently beset with controversy and conflicting results, yet has considerable scope for broader application. Deeper understanding of immunopathogenesis and further advances in biotechnology will doubtless transform the ways we diagnose and manage inflammatory bowel diseases. I anticipate that veterinary gastroenterology will be a field of particularly radical change over the next 20 years, as compared with other sub-specialities of companion animal medicine. Future workers in this field may well wonder when they think about the ways we were compelled to make diagnoses in the early 21st century. What is unlikely to change, however, is the ability of fast-evolving microbes to continually present us with new challenges, and sometimes to outfox us. I have no doubt that there will be plenty of new and interesting gastrointestinal infectious diseases for veterinarians to wrestle with in the foreseeable future.
Richard A Squires, Institute of Veterinary, Animal, and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University

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