Effect of N-Acetylcysteine Supplementation on Intracellular Glutathione, Urine Isoprostanes, Clinical Score, and Survival in Hospitalized Ill Dogs

• Published in: Journal of veterinary internal medicine 2013-03, Vol.27 (2), p.250-258
• Main Authors: Viviano, K.R., VanderWielen, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcysteine - administration & dosage; Analgesics; Animals; Antioxidants; Biomarkers; Blood; Case-Control Studies; Dietary Supplements; Dog Diseases - blood; Dog Diseases - drug therapy; Dog Diseases - metabolism; Dog Diseases - urine; Dogs; Female; Glutathione; Glutathione - blood; Glutathione - metabolism; HIV; Hospitals, Animal; Human immunodeficiency virus; Intensive care; Isoprostanes - metabolism; Isoprostanes - urine; Lipid peroxidation; Lipids; Liver; Male; Metabolism; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Plasma; Prospective Studies; Selenium; Selenium - blood; Sepsis; Statistics, Nonparametric; Survival Analysis; Urine; Vitamin E; Vitamin E - blood
• ISSN: 0891-6640; 1939-1676
• DOI: 10.1111/jvim.12048

Background Antioxidant depletion and lipid peroxidation have been correlated with disease severity and associated with poor outcomes. Hypothesis/Objectives Supplementing dogs with N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) during the first 48 hours of hospitalization will increase cysteine, normalize glutathione concentrations, and decrease the degree of lipid peroxidation associated with illness. Animals Sixty systemically ill hospitalized client‐owned dogs and 14 healthy control dogs. Methods Randomized investigator‐blinded, placebo‐controlled prospective study. Dogs were randomized to treatment with NAC (n = 30) versus placebo (n = 30). Antioxidants, urine 8‐isoprostane/creatinine (IP/Cr), and clinical score were determined before and after treatment with NAC. Glutathione, cysteine, and vitamin E concentrations were quantified using high‐performance liquid chromatography. Atomic absorption spectroscopy and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays were used to quantify selenium and isoprostane concentrations, respectively. Results Ill dogs had significantly lower vitamin E concentrations (27 versus 55 μg/mL; P = .0005) as well as elevated IP/Cr ratios (872 versus 399 pg/mg; P = .0007) versus healthy dogs. NAC supplementation significantly increased plasma cysteine (8.67 versus 15.1 μM; P