My senior dog has seizures. What do high SDMA and low protein mean?

The SDMA test can be frustrating when values are borderline high, but all other kidney values are spot on. Elevated SDMA values can indicate that kidney disease may develop within the next few years... but this is not true 100% of the time. As with any test, false positives are certainly possible. At this point, with well concentrated urine (great urine specific gravity!) and a low UPC, it sounds as though Maddy's kidney function is great. I agree with your vet - lowering the protein content in her diet is out of an abundance of caution. It does not sound as though any changes in dietary phosphorus are necessary at this point. Instead, plan to recheck Maddy's blood and urine tests twice a year to track these changes, or more often if she shows signs of kidney disease, including increased drinking and urination, weight loss, loss of appetite, or vomiting. Try not to stress - this result sounds like a bit of a red herring. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Maddy!

The meaning of elevated creatinine and urea must be interpreted looking at a urine sample and urine specific gravity. If the urine specific gravity is elevated with elevated UREA and CREA that means that the kidneys are working correctly (or at least 30% of the total kidney functionality is preserved). Other investigations for seizure must be performed as the underlying cause has not been recognized yet. Generally speaking there are three main type of seizure causes: -primary (something involving the brain itself like an infective disease, a cyst, a benign or malignant tumor) -secondary: metabolic basically, which means a problem involving kidneys, liver and other organs and secondarily affecting the brain -idiopathic: basically a genetic problem. Your veterinarian can usually do part of the investigations like blood test but the rest may need an MRI and more advanced investigations. 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.

Sorry to hear about Munnu. The lab report you have attached does not provide any insight into the cause of his seizure activity. Unfortunately, a 12 year old dog with no previous history of seizures is most likely the result of a brain tumor or tumor elsewhere in the nervous system (this is of course in the absence of a known traumatic event to the head or neck). Other less likely causes would include certain infectious or inflammatory conditions, or extremely late onset epilepsy. I would recommend getting Munnu onto anticonvulsive drugs right away, and having his stabilized at your veterinarian if the seizures continue with regularity.

Thanks for the picture! Unfortunately the way they have it printed out, it doesn't include what is normal for their lab machine, so I still can't fully interpret the results. From the lab that I use, the liver values that you have gotten would be considered normal, or very close to the normal range. Did the vet that ran the bloodwork give you any indication that they were abnormal? Seizures in a young dog could be caused by many things, including portosystemic or liver shunt (which may need ultrasound or bile acids testing to diagnose), epilepsy, hypoglycemia, kidney disease, intracranial disease, infection, among several others. I would recommend that you discuss these possibilities with your vet and see what other testing can be done to look at these other systems.

SDMA (symmetric dimethylarginine) is a renal biomarker specific to kidney function. It has proven to be a more reliable indicator of kidney function than creatinine which enables veterinarians to detect kidney disease earlier. Once elevated, it usually will not go back down. A complete blood chemistry would check for any underlying diseases that might be causing kidney damage. Diseases like diabetes, hyperthyroidism or Cushing’s disease. If Tobi is on any chronic medications (like an NSAID (Rimadyl etc.) those may cause a decrease in kidney function. A urine bacterial culture might be indicated and an x-ray for possible urinary tract stones. You should have his blood pressure checked as hypertension is often associated with kidney disease. Tobi will need to continue to have the SDMA monitored as well as the other kidney values ( BUN, CREA, Phosphorus). If you want more information as to how the kidneys are functioning you could request a urine protein:CREA ratio test. The urine protein:creatinine ratio is a simple test that measures how much protein is being lost through the kidneys. It is used to determine whether a pet may have serious kidney disease. The test involves measuring the amount of protein and creatinine in the same urine sample, and expressing the difference between the two values as a ratio. Also, an abdominal ultrasound can be done to look at the architecture of the kidneys. This should be done by a specialist. They will also measure the kidneys to see if their size is appropriate. Kidney disease cannot be "fixed" but it can be managed especially if caught early with the SDMA test. Tobi should be placed on a prescription diet to help support the kidneys. Talk with your vet about this. I hope this helps. If you have any more specific questions please post again. Best wishes to you and Tobi.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. Based on your history and description, I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound as the next diagnostic step. The protein being low could be related to a GI inflammatory disease or intestinal cancer. X-rays do not show enough detail of the intestines or organs so things can be missed on x-rays that would show up on an ultrasound. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

She really does need some investigation into what is going on. If toxins can be ruled out and there hasn't been a traumatic injury to the head it is most likely going to be a central nervous system lesion. Unfortunately this is normally a brain tumour or similar. Epilepsy is still a possibility but rarely occurs in older dogs. I would recommend seeing your vet as soon as possible so they can start with some blood tests and take their investigations from there. Fingers crossed for you.