Background: Urate urolithiasis is a common problem in breed homozygous for the mutation that results in\nhyperuricosuria. Low purine diets have been recommended to reduce purine intake in these dogs.\nMethods: A higher protein, purine restricted diet with water added was evaluated in dogs with genetic\nhyperuricosuria and a history of clinical urate urolithiasis over a one year time period. Dogs were evaluated at\nbaseline and 2, 6, and 12 months after initiating the test diet. Bloodwork, urinalysis, abdominal ultrasound, body\ncomposition, and 24-h urinary purine metabolite analyses were performed.\nResults: Transient, mild, self-limited lower urinary tract signs were noted in only one dog on a single day, despite\nvariable but usually mild and occasionally moderate amounts of echogenic bladder stones (<2-3 mm in size) in\nalmost every dog at each visit. No significant differences were noted in urine specific gravity, urine pH, lean body\ncondition score or body composition. Urinary uric acid concentration was lower on the test diet (p = 0.008), but\n24-h uric acid excretions were similar (p = 0.220) compared to baseline. Significant differences between least squares\nmean plasma amino acid concentrations measured at the 0 and 12-month visits were found only for valine (p = 0.0119)\nand leucine (p = 0.0017).\nConclusion: This study suggests the use of a low purine, higher protein diet with added water may be beneficial as\npart of the management of dogs with genetic hyperuricosuria and history of clinical urate urolithiasis.
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