Mineral, trace element, and toxic metal concentration in hair from dogs with idiopathic epilepsy compared to healthy controls

Abstract

Background: Altered trace element status is associated with epilepsy in humans and dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE). Objectives: Compare hair element concentrations in epileptic and healthy dogs. Animals: Sixty-three dogs with IE (53 treated, 10 untreated) and 42 controls. Methods: Case-control study using ICP-MS to determine hair calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, selenium, chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, and nickel concentration. Groups were compared using nonparametric tests. Results were controlled for diet, sex, age, and hair color using generalized linear mixed models. Results: Compared to healthy controls, dogs with IE had lower hair phosphorus (mean ± SD; IE: 286.19 ± 69.62 μg/g, healthy: 324.52 ± 58.69 μg/g; P =.001), higher hair copper (IE: 10.97 ± 3.51 μg/g, healthy: 8.41 ± 1.27 μg/g; P