Juvenile Pancreatic Atrophy in Greyhounds: 12 Cases (1995–2000)

Background: This study describes compound failure of the endocrine and exocrine pancreas in Greyhounds, a condition that has not been reported in the veterinary literature.
Objective: To describe the clinical and pathologic findings in 12 Greyhounds with juvenile pancreatic atrophy.
Animals: Ten Greyhounds presented for necropsy examination and 2 sibling Greyhounds presented for clinical evaluation before necropsy, all with a history of small-bowel diarrhea.
Procedures: Retrospective study of laboratory and pathologic findings in 12 Greyhounds, including serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity assays, oral glucose tolerance testing, and serum anti-insulin antibody concentrations.
Results: Gross pancreatic atrophy was found in all 12 dogs. Histopathologic lesions were found in both the endocrine and exocrine pancreas and included acinar cell apoptosis, zymogen granule loss, cytoplasmic clearing or vacuolar change, lobular atrophy, islet loss, and lymphocytic or lymphoplasmacytic pancreatitis. Antemortem test results on the 2 Greyhound puppies indicated concurrent exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Compound failure of the exocrine and endocrine pancreas is rarely reported in dogs and neither disease is well recognized in the Greyhound. This condition is of potential economic importance to the Greyhound racing industry.