ursodiol and pancreatitis

[nepenthe]

My vet has my cat on ursodiol, hoping that it will help his chronic pancreatitis by improving bile flow. She says that this drug is becoming popular with vets in treating p-titis, but everything I've read is that it shouldn't be used in people/animals with p-titis. He has been on it for over 2 weeks now, and I can't even see that its doing anything. She wants to keep him on it for 2 months.

Has anyone ever used it in a cat with pancreatitis?

 

[BJM]

Did a search of the Merck Veterinary Manual online and came up with nothing.

Did a search of Pub Med and found some older articles with ideas that may be the foundation of ursodial use.

Guessing, here: I think the idea is that in pancreatitis, especially repeated bouts of it, the exocrine secretion (digestive enzymes) may be impaired. Producing more bile may help with some of the digestion, at least as far as fats go.

Sometimes, with pancreatitis, there may be inflammation in the bowel and liver, too - triaditis. Also, if the cat isn't eating enough, there may be concern about feline hepatic lipidosis (FHL), where fat breakdown for calories may cause liver swelling which blocks the secretion of bile into the bile ducts. Another guess: Perhaps the idea is to get it more flushed out to prevent some of the complications of the FHL?

Here's something from Mar Vista Animal Medical Center on it.

 

[nepenthe]

Thanks for this.

I think (at least in this cat) there is a relation between dietary fat and the worsening of the p-titis. One thing the vet did mention to me is that the gall bladder duct opens into the pancreatic duct, so there is speculation that thickening of the bile etc, could irritate the pancreas. I read somewhere that it takes a while for Ursodiol to work. I think because its a drug that is new in the use with p-titis that I am cautious.

In August I added pancreatic enzymes (like Viokase) to his food, for what its worth, and that in itself hasn't prevented flare-ups.