2008 Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 67-72
In this study, plasma vitamin C (VC) concentration was measured in dogs of breeds predisposed to intervertebral disk disease (IDD) and mitral insufficiency (MI), likely caused by endocardiosis. These dogs were divided into healthy-, IDD- and MI-groups. Samples of five healthy large-breed dogs were treated as control. The mean values of healthy-, IDD- and MI- groups were 3.9±1.9μg/ml (n=13),3.0±0.6μg/ml (n=6) and 3.8±1.8μg/ml (n=6), respectively. In large-breed dogs, the average was 2.3±0.9μg/ml. There was no significant difference among the values of these groups. Plasma VC levels decreased with age in healthy-(R=-0.42) and IDD-groups (R=-0.97). In dogs of healthy-group, VC concentrations were significantly higher in dogs less than one year of age than dogs 1.5 years of age and older (P<0.05).
