A trial has been underway for a while by the Royal Veterinary Clinic, to use the drug cabergoline to help our acrocats. Here is my first post on it. Since then, we've had a few acrocats try the drug, and even had one here, Marvin go OTJ! The results of the RVC study are supposed to be out shortly, and if anyone finds the paper or link to the paper, please add it to the discussion. Christopher Scudder is the lead researcher at RVC. Paul @Bronx's dad listed some early trial results in this post. I also found another trial done in South America, where another acro went off insulin.
Pharmalogical treatment with cabergoline in three cats with acromegaly, to be published in Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias (RCCP). Cats on that trial were dosed every other day vs. every day on the RVC trial. One of those three cats also went OTJ.
My purpose in starting this post is as a discussion place of experiences, doses, possible side effects, or other information that might be useful to anyone considering trying cabergoline for their kitty. I am including some random selection from other discussions/posts. @Marvin's Mom - Nat, @Beenie, @Adrian and Chino, @Bronx's dad , please add your thoughts and experiences. @Jadi & Tiffany and @Karen & Lily are also looking into this.
A quote on current RVC dosing: "We are currently only managing the trial in the UK but have been in contact with others outside the UK who wish to try it. We use a starting dose of cabergoline of 10 micrograms per kilogram by mouth once daily. It seems to have a slow onset of action, unlike pasireotide which has a rapid onset of action. The have been monitoring diabetic control as we would do any other diabetic cat (mainly monitoring clinical signs such as thirst, urination, appetite and body weight but also using fructosamine testing) and also monitoring the IGF1 levels. Our time schedule for the IGF1 testing is after 1 month, 3 months and 6 months of receiving the medication.
The main possible side effects of the medication are gastrointestinal upset such as reduced appetite and diarrhoea. I think some cats have experienced reduced appetite but not to the extent of requiring to discontinue to drug. I have known one cat that did need four days of hospitalisation due to pancreatitis and I do not know if this was drug induced or not. If this medication has been ineffective then when the drug is discontinued, I recommended weaning the medication over three weeks to avoid a syndrome described in people as dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I do not know if this happens in cats and have yet to see any signs that it happens. I also recommend that women who are pregnant or hoping to get pregnant do not handle the medication as it is known to cause abortion in cats."
So far, everyone using the drug is getting it compounded into liquid format.
We do not know much about long term effects of this drug, and it is a drug that may have to be used for the life of the cat.
There is a lot we don't know about the use of this drug. In Marvin's case, the impacts and dose reductions came very quickly, 3 weeks after starting the drug. In the South American study, they were still seeing improvments between 3 and 6 months after starting the trial.
Pharmalogical treatment with cabergoline in three cats with acromegaly, to be published in Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Pecuarias (RCCP). Cats on that trial were dosed every other day vs. every day on the RVC trial. One of those three cats also went OTJ.
My purpose in starting this post is as a discussion place of experiences, doses, possible side effects, or other information that might be useful to anyone considering trying cabergoline for their kitty. I am including some random selection from other discussions/posts. @Marvin's Mom - Nat, @Beenie, @Adrian and Chino, @Bronx's dad , please add your thoughts and experiences. @Jadi & Tiffany and @Karen & Lily are also looking into this.
A quote on current RVC dosing: "We are currently only managing the trial in the UK but have been in contact with others outside the UK who wish to try it. We use a starting dose of cabergoline of 10 micrograms per kilogram by mouth once daily. It seems to have a slow onset of action, unlike pasireotide which has a rapid onset of action. The have been monitoring diabetic control as we would do any other diabetic cat (mainly monitoring clinical signs such as thirst, urination, appetite and body weight but also using fructosamine testing) and also monitoring the IGF1 levels. Our time schedule for the IGF1 testing is after 1 month, 3 months and 6 months of receiving the medication.
The main possible side effects of the medication are gastrointestinal upset such as reduced appetite and diarrhoea. I think some cats have experienced reduced appetite but not to the extent of requiring to discontinue to drug. I have known one cat that did need four days of hospitalisation due to pancreatitis and I do not know if this was drug induced or not. If this medication has been ineffective then when the drug is discontinued, I recommended weaning the medication over three weeks to avoid a syndrome described in people as dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I do not know if this happens in cats and have yet to see any signs that it happens. I also recommend that women who are pregnant or hoping to get pregnant do not handle the medication as it is known to cause abortion in cats."
So far, everyone using the drug is getting it compounded into liquid format.
We do not know much about long term effects of this drug, and it is a drug that may have to be used for the life of the cat.
There is a lot we don't know about the use of this drug. In Marvin's case, the impacts and dose reductions came very quickly, 3 weeks after starting the drug. In the South American study, they were still seeing improvments between 3 and 6 months after starting the trial.
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