| Institution: | 1. Department for Small Animals, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;2. Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand;3. Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland;4. Institute of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany |
| Abstract: | Disorders of cobalamin (vitamin B12) metabolism are increasingly recognized in small animal medicine and have a variety of causes ranging from chronic gastrointestinal disease to hereditary defects in cobalamin metabolism. Measurement of serum cobalamin concentration, often in combination with serum folate concentration, is routinely performed as a diagnostic test in clinical practice. While the detection of hypocobalaminemia has therapeutic implications, interpretation of cobalamin status in dogs can be challenging. The aim of this review is to define hypocobalaminemia and cobalamin deficiency, normocobalaminemia, and hypercobalaminemia in dogs, describe known cobalamin deficiency states, breed predispositions in dogs, discuss the different biomarkers of importance for evaluating cobalamin status in dogs, and discuss the management of dogs with hypocobalaminemia. |
