Enteritis, Lymphocytic - Plasmacytic

Signalment

Basenjis have been reported to suffer from a severe form of this disease.

Description

Lymphocytic - plasmacytic enteritis (LPE) is the most common form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. As its name suggests, the predominant cell type in the intestinal mucosa is lymphocytes and plasma cells. Enteric parasites, bacteria in dogs and Toxoplasma in cats have been reported to associated with LPE. This disorder in cats have also been shown to associate with concurrent disease of the pancreas and liver such as pancreatitis, cholangitis and hepatic lipidosis. This disease in animal has been compared to the human dsease. LPE is believed to be caused by an abnormal MALT response to luminal bacterial, dietary or self-antigens.

The small intestines is affected to a variable degree of serverity. It has also been known to affect other parts of the gastrointestinal tract such as the stomach and the colon. In severely affected animals, this will result in a protein-losing enteropathy (PLE).

Diagnosis

Clinical Signs

• Small intestinal diarrhoea.
• Weight loss
• Protein - losing enteropathy in severe cases
• Chronic vomiting (common in cats, sometimes in dogs)

References

• Ettinger, S.J. and Feldman, E. C. (2000) Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine Diseases of the Dog and Cat Volume 2 (Fifth Edition) W.B. Saunders Company.
• Hall, E.J, Simpson, J.W. and Williams, D.A. (2005) BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Gastroenterology (2nd Edition) BSAVA
• Nelson, R.W. and Couto, C.G. (2009) Small Animal Internal Medicine (Fourth Edition) Mosby Elsevier.