Bitch hormones

OBJECTIVE: This report documents a rare case of vulvar discharge associated with exogenous oestrogen exposure in a large-breed dog. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 4-year-old spayed Weimaraner bitch was presented for evaluation of inappetence and intermittent sanguineous vulvar discharge. Physical examination, vaginal cytology, haematological, and ultrasonographic findings were indicative of a uterine stump pyometra. A celiotomy was performed, and the uterine stump appeared grossly cystic and thickened...

Pyometra is a common disease in intact bitches and queens and occurs, although less frequently,in most other female pets. The illness is generally diagnosed within 4 months after estrus, in middle-aged to older bitches and queens. Hormonal and bacterial factors are important for the disease development, and progesterone plays a key role. The diagnosis is based on case history, clinical signs, and findings on physical examination, laboratory analyses and diagnostic imaging. Pyometra is potentially life-threatening and considered a medical emergency...

The most common uterine diseases in bitches occurring during diestrus are cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH) and pyometra. These diseases can coexist as CEH-pyometra complex (CEH-P). Their pathogenesis has not been fully explained. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are important factors regulating mammalian reproductive function and inflammatory processes. Although there is a lack of data concerning the expression of PPARs in the canine endometrium during CEH and CEH-P, we hypothesized that they might be involved in the development of pathological disorders of the canine endometrium...

Effects of conservative treatment on uterine blood flow and morphometric findings are still unknown in bitches. Thus, this study aimed to compare uterine changes of pyometra bitches subjected to distinct modes of treatment. Pyometra bitches were assigned to: OHE (ovariohysterectomy immediately after diagnosis), Aglepristone (days 1, 2 and 8) and Associative (aglepristone treatment coupled with cloprostenol for 7 days) groups. After 9 days, bitches were ovariohysterectomized. Before surgery, uterine area was measured ultrasonographically and the uterine artery Doppler velocimetry analyzed blood flow velocity and indexes...

During the ovarian cycle in domestic dogs, females do not accept males during the first days of estrus but become attractive to males from the beginning of proestrus, with this attractiveness persisting until the end of the estrus phase. It is believed that increased estradiol is responsible for the female attractiveness to the males. In this paper we describe the case of strong, but atypical attractiveness of a castrated male to various, adult, intact males, influenced by the emitted semiochemical signals...

As dogs experience estrus only once or twice a year, it is necessary to establish an effective method of estrus induction for efficient breeding. In the present study, we evaluated inhibin antiserum (IAS) on estrus induction in anestrus females. Bitches were administered 0.5 mL/kg IAS or a mixture of 50 IU/kg equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and 0.5 mL/kg IAS and 500 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administered 7 days after the mixture injection. As a control, bitches received 50 IU/kg eCG, with 500 IU hCG administered 7 days after eCG injection...

Long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs, which are approved for male dogs and ferrets, have been used off-label to suppress estrus in bitches predisposed to the side effects of spaying. Health data from the past 12 years were evaluated from bitches without progestogen pretreatment that received deslorelin acetate (DA) to suppress estrus for the first time before the age of 4.5 years. The study population included 32 client-owned bitches repeatedly treated with either 4.7 mg or 9.4 mg DA implants for a period of 5...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the short-term effect of ovariohysterectomy on urine levels of serotonin and its relation to levels of cortisol, testosterone and progesterone in female dogs. Seven bitches were studied before surgical ovariohysterectomy and then once a week during 4 weeks. Spontaneously voided urine samples were collected and concentration ratios of hormone/creatinine in urine were analysed. RESULTS: The bitches had significantly lower levels of cortisol, testosterone, and progesterone 1 week after ovariohysterectomy compared with before and the levels stayed low throughout the study (P ≤ 0...

BACKGROUND: Clinical signs of heat in bitches that have been previously spayed are often associated with the presence of ovarian remnant syndrome. The inclusion of exogenous estrogens as a differential diagnosis in this regard is often ignored and may lead to misinterpretation of the case. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we report a case of exogenous estrogen exposure over several months to a 6.5-year-old spayed crossbred bitch, weighing 8.4 kg. The bitch presented in the clinic because of suspected ovarian remnant syndrome...

OBJECTIVE: Lactatio sine graviditate of the bitch can become clinically relevant in particularly severe manifestations. The aim of the study was to relate the hormone pattern consisting of progesterone (P4), estradiol 17β (E2) and prolactin to the time of occurrence of lactatio sine graviditate in the course of metoestrus and anoestrus as well as to its symptomatology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight bitches with apparent lactatio sine graviditate were divided into 3 groups according to their cycle status...

Functional ovarian cysts occur as solitary or multiple fluid-filled structures of variable size that are unilateral or bilateral in the bitches of age 6-8 years. Though the pathogenesis is obscure, insufficient LH surge, intrafollicular changes in gonadotrophin receptors and growth factors are the possible reasons behind the occurrence of hormonally active ovarian cysts that predisposes the bitch to the development of cystic endometrial hyperplasia-pyometra complex and occasionally hyper estrogenism. In the presence of suggestive signs, ultrasonography is the practical imaging modality for the clinical diagnosis that can be confirmed by assay of ovarian steroids and histopathology...

In bitches, uterine cysts are usually associated with pathological conditions. Serosal inclusion cysts of the uterus represent an exception to this rule. These thin-walled cysts develop on the uterine surface and occur either as single or multiple cysts. The cysts lack endocrine activity and usually do not cause clinical symptoms. Their occurrence shows no association to the estrus cycle. Serosal inclusion cysts are mainly found in older multiparous bitches and large breeds are more often affected. Diagnosis of serosal inclusion cysts may be achieved by transabdominal sonography...

BACKGROUND: Surgical sterilization is the most effective method of contraception for dogs. It also prevents pyometra and reduces the risk of mammary tumour development. However, this procedure also has negative effects, such as urinary incontinence. Steroid hormone deprivation following gonadectomy could also affect canine vaginal mucosa conditions and the microbial community colonizing the vaginal tract. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the vaginal cytology and microbial community of two groups of bitches, including 11 in anoestrus and 10 sterilized bitches (post-pubertal sterilization in the last 4 years)...

The effect of estrus induction by cabergoline on gonadotropin and steroid hormone responses was examined in anestrous bitches. Eleven beagles were used in the study; seven were included in the estrus induction group and four were included in the spontaneous estrus group. Cabergoline was orally administered to the estrus induction group at 5 µg/kg once daily for four weeks, or until hemorrhagic discharge was detected. The inter-estrus interval in the estrus induction group was significantly shorter than the previous estrus interval...

Aglepristone was administered in bitches during the follicular phase to evaluate its effects on progesterone, estradiol-17β and LH serum concentrations. Ten German Shepherds were divided into two groups (treated n = 5; control n = 5). Treated bitches received 10 mg/kg BW of aglepristone subcutaneously during the early follicular phase, 24 hr after and then 7 days later. The control group was injected, at the same time periods, with saline solution (0.3 ml/kg BW). For the steroid evaluations, blood was collected daily from the onset of proestrus until the first day of cytological dioestrus...

The aims of the study were to (1) compare the serum concentration of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) with the number of follicles in ovaries and (2) determine the serum AMH con- centration before and after ovariohysterectomy in dioestrus and anoestrus bitches. Sixteen bitches were divided into two groups: Group I (n=8) consisted of dioestrus and group II (n=8) anoestrus bitches. The blood samples for AMH assesment were taken before ovariohysterectomy (day 0) and on day 1, 5 and 10. Both in group I and II, serum AMH concentrations on day 1 and 5 were significantly different compared to day 0 (p⟨0...

The aim of the work was to describe the profile of steroid hormones in the peripartum period of the bitch. Twenty-five healthy pregnant bitches presented for pregnancy monitoring and parturition assistance were included in the study. A blood sample was collected for routine progesterone assay, and serum was stored at -20°C. The day of parturition and the number of delivered puppies were registered. Concentrations of corticosteroids, androgens, progestogens, estrogens, for a total number of 17 different hormones, were measured using ultra-performance supercritical fluid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry...

BACKGROUND: Tumours in mammary glands represent the most common neoplasia in bitches, as in humans. This high incidence results in part from the stimulation of sex hormones on these glands. Among mammary tumours, inflammatory carcinoma is the most aggressive, presenting a poor prognosis to surgical treatment and chemotherapy. One of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer treatment is doxorubicin (DOXO). Alternative therapies have been introduced in order to assist in these treatments; studies on treatments using stem cells have emerged, since they have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties...

BACKGROUND: We investigated uterine histopathological and ultrastructural changes in female dogs with pyometra induced by Escherichia coli (E. coli) inoculation using progesterone and/or estradiol. METHODS: Dogs were ovariectomized and classified into six groups: Groups 1-6 corresponding to estradiol treatment followed by progesterone supplementation, progesterone supplementation only, estradiol supplementation only, simultaneous treatment using estradiol and progesterone, similar to Group 1 but with a double dose, and control group, respectively...

An eleven-year-old Doberman-German Shepherd mixed bitch was presented with vulvar enlargement, vaginal discharge, and bleeding for two months and a week before, respectively. The dog was operated for routine ovariohysterectomy. During the surgery, a liquid-filled sac was observed on the ventrolateral border of the right uterine horn. The sac was ligated and excised. The uterine horns and ovaries were stained for histopathological evaluation. Granulosa cell tumor (GCT), adenomyosis (CUA), endometrial cystic hyperplasia (CEH), and uterine serosal inclusion cyst (USC) were diagnosed through histopathology assessment...