My dog has copper hepatitis. What are the treatment options?

Liver failure is diagnosed by evaluating the bile acids and bilirubin in the blood. Often, the bilirubin is analyzed in the same panel as the ALT, so your vet should have a good idea of this. The liver has good potential to heal, but it depends on the amount of damage done and how far along the copper storage disease is. With treatment, the copper metabolism can be corrected, but will not reverse some of the damage done already. If Minnow has had a biopsy, then your veterinarian should have some good information regarding the state of her liver at this time, so it's best to ask him or her. I'm really sorry to hear about this. It must be very difficult to deal with this right now, but please know that you seem to be doing everything right and with the correct treatment, you can help her keep from getting any worse. I hope this information helps and Minnow gets better soon.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! When the liver suffers an insult (such as a toxicity) it can take some time for it to regenerate/repair and all values to return to normal. This process can take months. Typical supportive medications given to dogs with liver injury include Denamarin, Vitamin E, Acetylcysteine, and Ursodiol. A prescription hepatic diet (such as Hill's L/D or Royal Canin Hepatic) may also aid in decreasing any ongoing liver injury. Ursodiol is an oral medication, available by prescription only, that can add in reducing bilirubin by stimulating bile flow from the gallbladder through the biliary tree. It cannot be used if there is underlying gallbladder disorder, such as a gallbladder mucocele (gallstone). Your veterinarian will prescribe this if they feel this will benefit Tasha's recovery. You can certainly schedule a recheck with Tasha's veterinarian to discuss any additional medications or treatment options that may benefit her. The liver is a highly regenerative organ, and if given the proper support can make a complete or near-complete recovery.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Medical treatment for liver shunts consists of: Liver diet so despite him being a puppy I'd put him on Hill's l/d if a small breed dog or Purina HA for growth (Soy based and less likely to form ammonia) Lactulose Prilosec (omerprazole) to prevent gastric ulcers exacerbating signs Antibiotics usually short term but sometimes long term I hope this helps!

From Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook: In dogs, the most prevalent adverse effects associated with penicillamine are: -Nausea, vomiting, and depression. While penicillamine should be given on an empty stomach (at least 30 minutes before feeding), if the animal develops problems with vomiting or anorexia, four remedies have been suggested: -Give the same total daily dose, but divide into smaller individual doses and give more frequently. -Temporarily reduce the daily dose and gradually increase to recommended dosage. -Give a long-acting antiemetic one-hour before dosing. -Give with a small amount of food (e.g., cheese or bread) if one of the first three do not alleviate vomiting. -Although thought infrequent or rare, fever, lymphadenopathy, skin hypersensitivity reactions, or immune-complex glomerulonephropathy may occur. A case of hemolytic anemia in a cat has been reported. -Penicillamine can reduce GI dietary mineral (zinc, iron, copper, and calcium) absorption and cause deficiencies with long-term use. Pyridoxine deficient states may occur; supplementation advised. Dietary restriction of copper intake is an important part of therapy but does not replace copper chelation if excessive copper storage is already present. Dietary copper is restricted to <5 mg/kg (ppm, dry matter basis). Most puppy and adult dog foods contain 15-25 mg/kg (ppm, dry matter basis). Prescription hepatic diets contain lower levels of copper. For example, Hills L/D contains 4.9 mg/kg copper (ppm, dry matter basis). Organic diets may or may not have an appropriate copper level - being organic does not necessarily mean it is healthier. You may want to contact your local municipal authority or water utility company to inquire about mineral contents. Copper level could also be increased if you house uses copper pipes. you can get your water tested. If the water contains more than 100 micrograms per liter, then bottled demineralized water should be used. This water should contain only 1 microgram of copper per liter. Demineralized water and distilled water are processed differently and may not contain the same amount of copper. I am not aware of the specific copper contents of different brands, you may have to call the information number for a specific brand to ask about the copper contents.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Hepatitis (infection and inflammation of liver) is a very serious condition and is very hard to treat. If there is an internal medicine specialist in the area I would recommend having Nala seen by them. Otherwise I would be talking with your vet about testing for infectious diseases. However, it looks like they have treated her with broad spectrum antibiotics as well as IV fluids. I would recommend continuing treatment. She may need a feeding tube placed to try to keep her protein up during this illness. Unfortunately, with how severe this is, she may or may not pull through it, but the best chance of her making it through is to be aggressive with her treatment. I would suggest continuing to monitor her liver and white cell count, and to have imaging done and possible samples of her liver to try to determine the cause of the infection. Otherwise I would be talking to your vet about the parasites and infections present in your area and get covered with certain antibiotics. The white cells have increased however not that much, and the liver enzymes are actually improving if I can read the dates right from your picture. This is very hopeful. I would continue with antibiotics (IV if you cannot get them in orally), as well as IV fluids and I would think about syringe feeding or placing a feeding tube. Best of luck with Nala, I hope she makes a good recovery.

I am sorry to hear Saibis news. I strongly recommend you discuss this case with a veterinary oncologist (cancer specialist) as soon as possible in order to explore all potential options for treatment. A liver support supplement such as hills l/d or royal canin hepatic food plus zentonil may help support the remaining liver to function as well as possible in the meantime.

Unfortunately the value of this test in blood is not relevant and would not help with any diagnosis. Copper accumulation usually happens in the liver so either a biopsy or a general health profile (with liver function testing) may be much more helpful to diagnose this toxicity. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.