Content
- What is allopurinol for dogs and what is it for?
- How long to give allopurinol to a dog?
- Allopurinol for dogs with leishmania
- Allopurinol doses for dogs
- Allopurinol side effects for dogs
- Alternatives to Allopurinol for Dogs
Allopurinol is a medicine used in human medicine to reduce the level of uric acid in plasma and urine, because it inhibits a certain enzyme involved in its formation. In veterinary medicine, in this specific case in dogs, it is a drug used in combination with antimonials or miltefosine for the treatment of leishmaniasis.
If you want to know more about this drug, keep reading this article by PeritoAnimal, in which we talk about the dog allopurinol, its uses, recommended doses and possible side effects.
What is allopurinol for dogs and what is it for?
Allopurinol is a enzyme inhibitor which, more specifically, inhibits the enzyme that metabolizes the conversion of xanthine to uric acid. It is not used alone, but acts as an adjuvant to the main drug leishmanicidal, antimony or miltefosine, to try to completely eliminate the parasite from all tissues. In this way, the use of allopurinol in dogs is reduced to one: the treatment against leishmania.
How long to give allopurinol to a dog?
This drug is administered orally and its treatment can last from 6 months to a year. There are even cases where longer treatment is established. Anyway, a review and follow-up of the case is necessary after the establishment of treatment, taking into account that the frequency of reviews will be established by the veterinarian, since according to the severity of each case it must be individualized.
Allopurinol treatment should be tailored to the patient. A practical example would be miltefosine daily for approximately 1 month, combined with daily allopurinol for approximately 8 months.
Allopurinol for dogs with leishmania
As we said in the previous section, allopurinol is used to treat leishmania. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by a protozoan transmitted by the bite of a vector: the sand fly mosquito. It is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution and of serious nature, therefore, in addition to the prevention measures used to reduce its prevalence (vaccines, repellent collars and pipettes, immunity modulators), all dogs that have the disease must be treated.
Sick puppies are those with clinical signs and leishmania infection is confirmed by laboratory diagnosis. It is a non-specific disease, that is, can occur with multiple clinical signs, so it is very important to have a good history of the epidemiology of the place where the dog lives and its protection status. Some of these signs are: crusted and ulcerated dermatoses, lameness, nosebleeds, nasal and foot pad hyperkeratosis, lethargy, etc. The disease can be classified as visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis.
It is common that, in addition to leishmania, the dog suffers from another parasitic disease in the blood as it is closely linked to the dog's level of antiparasitic protection. Therefore, we must start treating leishmaniasis when we have a stable dog, that is, if the disease has caused anemia, kidney failure, dermatitis, etc., we must first treat these conditions.
Miltefosine and antimonials are leishmanicidal drugs (which eliminate the parasite) and their action is faster and more intense, while allopurinol is leishmaniostatic (prevents the multiplication of the parasite). For this reason, it is common to use a combination of these medications. However, more and more veterinarians prefer look for alternatives to allopurinol due to the side effects that this drug has on patients.
Allopurinol doses for dogs
The dose of allopurinol for dogs established for the treatment of leishmaniasis is 10 mg per kg of weight every 12 hours, ie twice a day.
The existing pharmacological presentation is tablets with 100 mg and 300 mg of allopurinol. Therefore, the veterinarian will tell you how many pills to administer according to your dog's weight. Also, remember that the specialist determines the duration of treatment, which should not be stopped without their prior approval.
Allopurinol side effects for dogs
There are two main side effects that allopurinol can cause in dogs during treatment:
- xanthinuria: when purines are degraded by corresponding enzymes, xanthine is formed, and this, in turn, is transformed into uric acid. Allopurinol interferes with the transformation of xanthine into uric acid, which must be eliminated in the urine, producing a xanthine excess and its consequent accumulation.
- Urolithiasis: the excess of xanthine crystals can produce aggregates with organic matter and form uroliths (stones). These uroliths are radiolucent, that is, they are not seen with a simple x-ray, and an x-ray or contrast ultrasound is needed to diagnose them.
The clinical signs that can be observed with these diseases are as follows:
- dysuria (pain when urinating);
- hematuria (blood in urine);
- urinary incontinence;
- urinary obstruction;
- abdominal pain.
You can find dog foods made specifically for the treatment of leishmaniasis. They are characterized by low purine content, preventing the formation of xanthine crystals. In addition, they have substances that help protect joints, skin and immunity.
Alternatives to Allopurinol for Dogs
As we mentioned in the previous sections, the side effects of allopurinol have led many veterinarians to choose to look for alternatives to this medication. In this sense, a recent study[1] confirms that the unhinged, a nucleotide-based nutraceutical is effective against the progression of leishmania and does not generate unwanted effects.
The new trend in the treatment of leishmania leads us to use these new drugs that do not have side effects. The downside is that this drug has a higher cost compared to allopurinol.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Allopurinol for dogs: doses and side effects, we recommend that you enter our Medicines section.