Ursodiol is a medication given to treat dogs suffering with chronic inflammatory liver disease. Doctors have long prescribed ursodiol for human patients suffering from gallstones or primary biliary cirrhosis, but veterinarians now use it with good results on their canine patients.
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Description
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Drugs.com, an informational web site of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, explains that ursodiol suppresses cholesterol production by the liver. The medicine is a bile acid that helps break down cholesterol absorbed by the intestines and then formed into gallstones in the gallbladder. Ursodiol is the generic name of the medication, which comes in 250 or 500 milligram, film-coated tablets.
Veterinary Uses
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Veterinarians prescribe ursodiol to treat chronic inflammatory disease of the liver, including problems with the gallbladder. Writing for the web site Vet Info, veterinarian Mike Richards says ursodiol "works by replacing harmful bile acids that might harm the liver. In addition, it is thought to have some anti-inflammatory effects."
In online conversations about dogs with liver cancer, Richards also indicates that giving the animal ursodiol can help support remaining liver function, and thus improve the dog's quality of life, even when the ultimate prognosis is not good.
Barbara Forney, a veterinarian in Chester County, Pennsylvania, writes that "in dogs, ursodiol is used in chronic hepatitis, some forms of acute hepatic failure or toxic injury, some congenital abnormalities including primary portal vein hypoplasia, and juvenile fibrosing liver disease."
Administration
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Drug.com describes ursodiol as a bitter, white powder. You should give it orally to your dog, preferably with food. Dogs usually tolerate the medication well.
Side Effects
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Side effects include vomiting and diarrhea, which also may indicate overdosing. Ursodiol may interact with antacids, which make it less effective. Ongoing liver tests will help determine whether the treatment is working.
Contraindications
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Forney cautions that administering ursodiol may be contraindicated--inadvisable to use--in dogs with biliary obstruction, fistula, other complications associated with gallstones, or pancreatitis, and it may also increase the animal's difficulty of metabolizing bile acid.
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