News from research 14

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Anxiety

Ability of Royal Canin Calm diet to limit anxiety in fearful cats

The effect of a diet supplemented with L-tryptophan and alpha-casozepine, a milk-protein hydrolysate, was assessed in cats identified as fearful. 40

This study included 24 colony cats identified as fearful of humans. At baseline, compared to non-fearful cats, these fearful cats were significantly more inactive in both open field and human interaction trials; inactivity was thus considered as a sign of anxiety. The 24 cats were divided into two equivalent groups that were fed either the Royal Canin Calm feline diet or a control diet for 4 weeks. At weeks 2 and 4, cats were reassessed in both open field and human interaction tests. Data were analysed using repeated measures (ANOVA and the Fisher exact test) for group comparison.

Baseline

Intro

After 2 weeks

* Distance traveled (Mean)

Open-Field behavioural assays are commonly used to test both locomotor activity and emotionality in mammals. The standard open field trial in the feline species entails placing the cat in an open field arena and allowing the subject to freely explore the room over a fixed period of time. Movement is recorded using a video tracking system and trained personnel record behaviours of interest.

#14 - May 2015

Evolution of distance traveled in fearful cats fed Royal Canin Calm or control

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Providing the best evidence through adapted study design

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Evidence-based medicine first emerged in the 70’s, and can be defined as a systematic approach to clinical problem solving; it enables the best research evidence available to be integrated with clinical expertise and patient values. Within this concept, study design is essential to weigh different levels of evidence and to place the results into perspective. For the identification of causative factors while minimising potential biases, the best study design remains that of long-term prospective cohort studies; these are currently lacking for a good understanding of the aetiology of feline hyperthyroidism. This 14th issue of “News from research” presents a recent review that gathers the best available data on the subject and discusses the strength of evidence that supports reported risk factors for feline hyperthyroidism.

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0 Control

Calm Diet

Marie-Anne Hours (Scientific Support- R&D)

Group

In the open field trial, for distance traveled, cats fed the control diet showed a statistically significant decrease in activity at 2 weeks (p=0.023) and a marginally significant decrease at 4 weeks (p=0.052). For inactivity duration, this group showed a statistically significant increase at 2 weeks. By contrast, the group fed the test diet (Royal Canin Calm feline) showed a statistically significant decrease in inactivity duration at 2 weeks (p=0.0397), a marginally significant decrease at 4 weeks (p=0.0675) and a global numerical increase in movement. No group differences were observed in the human interaction test.

Dermatology

Compared to cats fed the control diet, cats fed the test diet showed an increase in activity and a decrease in the duration of inactivity. These results support the interest of Royal Canin Calm Feline diet in reducing signs of anxiety in cats identified as fearful. Landsberg GM, de Rivera C, Mougeot I, Kelly S, Drewczynski D, Milgram NW. Anxiety-reducing effectiveness of a therapeutic calming diet using a model of fear and anxiety in cats. Proceedingsof the 2014 ACVB/ABSAB Veterinary Behavior Symposium, Denver, Colorado (USA) July 25, 2014, p19

Available articles: Fieten H, Biourge VC, Watson AL, Leegwater PA, van den Ingh TS, Rothuizen J. Dietary Management of Labrador Retrievers with Subclinical Hepatic Copper Accumulation. J Vet Intern Med. 2015 Mar 16. doi: 10.1111/jvim.12574. German AJ, Luxmore J, Holden SL, Morris PJ, Biourge V. Feeding obese dogs during weight loss is on average cost-neutral. J Small Anim Pract. 2015 Feb 12. doi: 10.1111/jsap.12338.

© ROYAL CANIN® SAS 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Hot off the press!

Clinical improvement of pruritus in dogs fed Royal Canin Hypoallergenic

This prospective study performed by the Veterinary University of Vienna investigated the efficacy of Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Canine in 80 pruritic dogs.

These findings show a positive effect on clinical signs in pruritic dogs fed Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, confirming that both AFR and CAD dogs can improve on this diet. This diet may also be used to make a diagnosis, by distinguishing dogs with atopic dermatitis from dogs suffering from cAFR, keeping in mind that it is mandatory to perform a re-challenge.

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical response of dogs showing signs of atopic dermatitis, and suffering from nonseasonal pruritus to a 60-day hydrolysed protein-based elimination diet (Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Canine). Over a two-year period, 80 pruritic dogs with a history and clinical appearance that were compatible with Canine Atopic Dermatitis (CAD) or with cutaneous Adverse Food Reactions (cAFR) were enrolled, and 67 dogs completed the 60-day study. Skin lesions and pruritus were scored at inclusion, and 30 and 60 days after implementing the diet. Data were analysed using Wilcoxon tests for pruritus and ANOVA for repeated measures (GLM) for skin lesions to compare differences between time points.

Horvath-Ungerboeck C, Tichy A, Tran JL, Litschauer B. Efficacy of a hydrolysed diet in 80 pruritic dogs: a prospective study. Proceedings of the 27th annual ESVD-ECVD congress, Salzburg (Austria), 11-13 September 2014, p18

Pruritus improved significantly from day 0 to 30 (p<0.001), day 0 to 60 (p<0.001) and day 30 to 60 (p=0.008). Skin lesions also improved significantly from day 0 to day 30 and from day 0 to day 60 (p<0.001). After 60 days, owners were asked to feed their previous diet as a re-challenge to confirm the diagnosis for cAFR (i.e. improvement of symptoms after being fed the Hypoallergenic diet, and flare-up in clinical signs when back on previous diet). 21 dogs were diagnosed with cutaneous AFR, 19 with CAD (confirmed through adapted skin tests) and 5 with both CAD and cAFR. For 22 dogs a definitive diagnosis could not be made as owners refused to re-challenge.

Mean values of pruritus in dogs that were finally diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, cutaneous adverse food reactions and without diagnosis, respectively No diagnosis CAD Cutaneous AFR 3 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Day 0

Day 30

Day 60


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