
Arthritis,
and the use of Glucosamine/Chondroitin
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Older rabbit
with arthritic feet joints (A. van Praag) Arthritis is often a
difficult to diagnose problem in animals, as the clinical signs can relate to
different health problems. The signs are furthermore individual, and each
rabbit will respond in a different way. The physical examination
includes the examination of the skin, the joints, the response to reflexes,
and determination of muscle strength. Pain is often noticed, when rotating
the joint. The physical examination will determine for the presence of fluid
collection around the joints. X-rays will help to visualize the degree of
bone and joint destruction, or the presence of a bone
spur (osteophyte). According to the suspected cause, additional blood and
urine tests can be required. The first treatments usually
proposed are rest, and pain medication, with NSAID drugs (e.g. meloxicam), as
they reduce pain *and* the inflammation caused by those bone spurs. The pain
medication does not need to be given on a daily basis, once or twice a week
may be enough. There is no rule here, just observation of the rabbit Lately,
glucosamine/chondroitin has been used to relieve arthritis in rabbit, and
various protocols for the administration of these drugs are available for
rabbits. For rabbits, Cosequin dose is
taken from Carpenter's formulary: "use empirically at feline dose".
More precisely, we used Cosequin in "our" rabbit and started with
1/4 teaspoon BID. After one month, it was dropped to SID for maintenance. For Adequan: the used dosage
has 2.2 mg/kg SC, IM, q once a week during 4 weeks, then q 14d. Those products do not show an
immediate relief, it needs time, usually 4 weeks, to show its positive
effects. Cosequin or Adequan do not
relieve pain, so pain medication is recommended. Metacam (meloxicam) is often used. It does not need to be given
on a daily basis, one drop once, twice or three a week may be enough. There
is no rule here; best is that you have to see the effect on your rabbit,
increase or decrease the frequency, by observing his habits, eating, moving
etc. In one case, the rabbit showed regular relapses. When this happened,
ketoprofen was given as long as needed (determined by observation of the
rabbit). Usually one or two injections were enough. Other NSAID analgesic drugs for use in rabbits are described here. Acknowledgement
Thanks are due to A. van Praag, for taking
the picture of Stampi, and to Stampi, for her patience. Further information: Williams JM, Zhang J, Kang H, Ummadi
V, Homandberg GA. The effects of hyaluronic acid on fibronectin fragment
mediated cartilage chondrolysis in skeletally mature rabbits. Osteoarthritis
Cartilage. 2003 Jan;11(1):44-9. |
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