Concentrations of acute-phase proteins in dogs with steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis.

Measurement of concentrations of acute-phase proteins (APPs) is used as an aid in the diagnosis of a variety of diseases of animals. Concentrations of APPs in dogs with steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) and other neurological diseases were determined in this prospective, observational study.  133 dogs with neurological diseases, 6 dogs with sepsis, and 8 healthy dogs were included in the study. Thirty-six dogs had SRMA (31 of which had monitoring), 14 dogs had other meningoencephalitides (ME), 32 had degenerative disk disease (IVDD), 26 had tumors affecting the central nervous system (TCNS), and 25 had idiopathic epilepsy (IE). C-reactive protein (CRP), α2-macroglobulin (AMG) and albumin concentrations were determined in the serum or plasma. CRP was also measured in the cerebrospinal fluid.  Serum CRP was significantly higher in dogs with SRMA (= 142 µg/ml ± 75) and sepsis (= 114 µg/ml ± 67) in comparison to dogs with other neurological diseases (= 2.3 - 21 µg/ml; P < .001). There was no significant difference detected in AMG between groups. Serum albumin concentration was significantly lower (P < .01) in dogs with SRMA (= 3.2 g/dl ± 0.41) than in other groups (= 3.6 - 3.9 g/dl). Serum CRP concentration of SRMA-dogs correlated with alkaline phosphatase levels (r = .515, P = .003). CRP concentrations in serum are useful in diagnosis of dogs with SRMA. Serum CRP could be used as a monitoring parameter in treatment management of these dogs.