Establishment of temporary criteria for Metabolic Syndrome (MS) diagnosis and assessment of the occurrence rate of MS in cats

Abstract

In this study, researchers attempted to establish temporary criteria for Metabolic Syndrome (MS) diagnosis in cats. To verify the usefulness of the selected criteria, we investigated changes m plasma glucose, Triglyceride (TG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) insulin and adiponectin levels as diagnostic factors in 50 clinically healthy cats. Cats with obesity as an essential factor in addition to any two of the three conditions, namely increased plasma glucose levels, elevated TG and/or TC levels and higher ALT activity were diagnosed with MS. Presence of additional factors such as reduced plasma adiponectin and/or raised insulin levels, confirmed the MS diagnosis. Based on these criteria, 9 (18.0%) cats were diagnosed with MS. In these cats, the plasma glucose, TC and ALT levels were significantly higher than those in the control cats (n = 41) without MS. MS was not detected in cats with body condition score <3 and the occurrence rate of MS was the highest in 5-10 years old cats. In the MS cats, reduced plasma adiponectin levels appeared to be an essential factor that defined the early stage of the disease. © Medwell Journals, 2012.