"Every Cat, Every Day Benefits From Winn-Funded Research"
August 16, 2017
Winn's Weekly Feline Research Byte
Joan Miller, Dr. Paul Pion

Making A Difference ~

A little over thirty years ago, Dr. Paul Pion, a veterinary cardiologist, approached Winn Feline Foundation regarding funding a research project that could significantly improve the health of all cats and what cats are fed.

The president of the Winn Board of Directors at that time was Joan Miller (1980-1996). With Joan's foresight and determination, Winn's grant review committee approved and funded Dr. Pion's project even though the  proposal was past Winn's deadline for consideration. The rest is history where cat foods are now supplemented with taurine and dilated cardiomyopathy is virtually nonexistent.

Recently Joan Miller was awarded the AVMA's Humane Award for her significant contributions to improving the health and welfare of all cats.
Steve Dale provides the rest of the story about Joan.

Cats with intestinal disease and taurine

Because taurine is an essential amino acid in cats, whole blood taurine concentrations currently remain a focus of feline disease research.

A recently published study is the first to investigate whole blood taurine concentrations in cats newly  diagnosed with intestinal disease. Taurine is the amino acid essential to conjugate bile acids. Conjugated bile acids are then absorbed from the distal small intestine (ileum). Cats with clinical disease of the ileum may have impaired absorption of these conjugated bile acids leading to decreased taurine concentrations, especially if they can't replenish their body stores by increased intake of a complete and balanced diet.

The study demonstrated that cats with predominantly large intestinal signs had significantly lower whole-blood taurine concentrations compared to cats with small intestinal or mixed bowel signs. The whole-blood taurine concentrations though remained within the reference range. Additional studies are needed to assess the role of bile acids and taurine in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory enteropathy.
#Cures4CatsDay 


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