Cocker Spaniel Puppies Cambridgeshire

Mike Herrtage and his group have concentrated most of his research in the field of small animal endocrinology.

He has worked extensively on hyperadrenocorticism in the dog and the cat, mainly centring on improving the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. His group pioneered the use of ACTH stimulation testing to monitor the treatment in canine hyperadrenocorticism in the UK and developed the use of endogenous ACTH concentrations and adrenal ultrasonography to distinguish the underlying cause of canine hyperadrenocorticism. Most recently, he joined a multicentre study which compared the survival time in dogs treated with trilostane or mitotane and was able to demonstrate that the survival curves for both treatments in pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism were remarkably similar.

His work on diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats has centred mainly on the aetiology of the disease and improved monitoring during therapy. His group pioneered the use of continuous glucose monitoring in dogs and cats to improve the management of their diabetes.

His current work on the endocrine responses in critical illness has led to a number of new discoveries including some simple predictors of mortality.

Main collaborators

• Dr Ian Ramsey (University of Glasgow)
• Dr Brian Catchpole (Royal Veterinary College)
• Dr Johan Schoeman (University of Pretoria)

Key Publications

Watson, P.J., Roulois, A.J., Scase, T., Johnston, P.E., Thompson, H. & Herrtage, M.E. Prevalence and breed distribution of chronic pancreatitis at post-mortem examination in first-opinion dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice (2007) 48, 609-618

Schoeman, J.P. & Herrtage, M.E. Serum thyrotropin, thyroxine and free thyroxine concentrations as predictors of mortality in critically ill puppies with parvovirus infection: a model for human paediatric critical illness? Microbes and Infection (2008) 10, 203-207

Schoeman, J.P. & Herrtage, M.E. Adrenal response to the low-dose ACTH stimulation test and the cortisol-to-adrenocorticotrophic hormone ratio in canine babesiosis. Veterinary Parasitology (2008) 154, 2005-213