felis - Articles
Blood biochemistry: cholesterol
Overview
- Major lipid in body and precursor of all steroid hormones and bile acids.
- Obtained from diet and synthesized in liver.
- Ancillary aid in diagnosis of several disorders but not diagnostic alone.
Uses
In combination
- Hyperadrenocorticism Hyperadrenocorticism.
- Liver disease.
- Diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus.
- Nephrotic syndrome Nephrotic syndrome.
- Biliary obstruction.
Other points
- Elevated cholesterol alone will only cause slight haziness to serum or plasma.
- Triglyceride must be present to cause hyperlipemia/turbidity (lactescent).
- Hypercholesteremia may or may not accompany primary idiopathic hyperlipidemia.
- Animals with hypercholesteremia >/-750 mg/dl should be tested for hypothyroidism.
- Euthyroid animals with persistent hypercholesteremia >750 mg/dl may be predisposed to arteriosclerosis and/or stroke. Treatment with cholesterol lowering drugs should be considered.
Sampling
Subscribe To View
This article is available to subscribers.
Try a free trial today or contact us for more information.
Tests
Methodologies
- Enzymatic method most common.
- Cholesterolesterase (hydrolyses cholesterol esters) and cholesteroloxidase are key enzymes.
- If cholesterolesterase included, total cholesterol is measured.
- If cholesterolesterase not included, non-esterified or 'free' cholesterol is measured.
Availability
- Widely available.
Technique intrinsic limitations
- Results only significant in conjunction with other laboratory results.
Result Data
Subscribe To View
This article is available to subscribers.
Try a free trial today or contact us for more information.
Further Reading
Publications
Refereed papers
- Recent references from VetMedResource and PubMed.
- Watson T D G & Barrie J (1993) Metabolism and hyperlipidemia in the dog and cat. A review. JSAP 34, 479.
Other sources of information
- Ettinger S J & Feldman E C (2000) Eds. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 5th edn. W B Saunders & Co, USA.
- Kaneko J J, Harvey J W & Brass M L (1997) Eds. Clinical Biochemistry of Domestic Animals. 5th edn. Academic Press, USA.
- Duncan J R, Prasse K W & Mahaffey E A (1994) Veterinary Laboratory Medicine. Clinical Pathology. 3rd edn. Iowa University Press, USA.