Agmatine for Pain Management in Dogs with Coxofemoral Joint Osteoarthritis
[um_loggedin show_lock=yes]Authors: Takashi Taguchi, Ronald Koh, Catherine Takawira, Nathalie Rademacher, Gad Gilad, Randy S. Aronson, Mandi J. Lopez*
Affiliations: TT, CT, MJL: Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, 1909 Skip Bertman Dr., Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
RK, NR: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, 1909 Skip Bertman Dr., Baton Rouge, LA, 70803
GG: Gilad & Gilad LLC, 531 Silent Siesta Dr., Henderson, NV, 89015
RSA: P.A.W.S. (Partners in Animal Wellness Services) Veterinary Center, Tucson, AZ 85704
*Corresponding author
Introduction: Pain associated with coxofemoral joint (CFJ) osteoarthritis (OA) characteristic of canine hip dysplasia and comorbidities like intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration are common, especially in aging dogs. Side effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs drive efforts to seek natural anti-inflammatories in treatment regimens. Agmatine, endogenous decarboxylated arginine, is reported to alleviate pain in animal models and humans.
Hypothesis/Objectives: The tested hypothesis was agmatine administration improves hindlimb limb use in dogs with CFJ OA and/or IVD degeneration comparably to carprofen and better than placebo.
Materials and Methods: Nine hound-type dogs with varying degrees of radiographic CFJ OA with or without IVD degeneration received oral carprofen (4.4 mg/kg, SID) for 7-days or agmatine sulfate (25mg/kg, BID) or placebo (hydroxypropyl methycellulose, BID) for 28 days in a cross over study design with a minimum 2-week washout between treatments. Percent changes in ground reaction forces (GRFs), peak vertical force and vertical impulse, were compared among treatments.
Results: Significant results included improved GRFs in dogs with mild CFJ OA (N=3) following agmatine administration versus carprofen or placebo and a trend for improved GRFs in dogs with moderate CFJ OA (N=2) following carprofen versus agmatine or placebo (Figure 1). The GRFs improved in dogs with IVD degeneration (N=3) following carprofen treatment compared to agmatine or placebo regardless of CFJ OA severity (Figure 2). There were no detectable adverse effects of any treatment.
Conclusions: This pilot study establishes the potential benefits of agmatine treatment for mild canine CFJ OA.
Acknowledgements, Funding, and Conflicts of Interest: The authors thank Evan Boatright, Robert Walton, Pengu Wang, and Qingqiu Yang for assistance with ground reaction force data collection. They also thank Chin-Chi Liu for assistance with statistical analysis. Funding for this study was provided by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation (Grant #LSU166206159). TT, RK, CT, NR, RSA, and MJL declare that they have no competing interests. GG is co-owner and CEO of Gilad & Gilad, LLC the company that provided the agmatine treatment used in this study (G-Agmatine®, US Patent No. 8916612).[/um_loggedin]