AUTHOR=Lehmann Verena , Altherr Barblin , Pantchev Nikola , Öfner Sabine , Zablotski Yury , Murphy Rachel , Coyne Michael , Kölle Petra 

TITLE=Symmetrical Dimethylarginine as a Diagnostic Parameter in Hermann's Tortoises (Testudo hermanni)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.824748

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.824748

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Despite improvements in habitational conditions, kidney disease is relatively common in tortoises.</p></sec><sec><title>Objectives</title><p>Purpose of this study was the establishment of Symmetrical dimethylarginine (SDMA) reference values for clinically healthy Hermann's Tortoises.</p></sec><sec><title>Animals</title><p>Clinically healthy Hermann's Tortoises (<italic>n</italic> = 131) were included in the period from October 2017 to September 2019.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Creatinine and other biomarkers were tested at IDEXX Laboratories, Germany using residual blood samples from Hermann's tortoises. SDMA was measured with the IDEXX test and verified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry at IDEXX Laboratories, USA.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>SDMA values ranged from 1 to 21 μg/dl (<italic>n</italic> = 131) for the IDEXX SDMA Test and SDMA values ranged from 1 to 17 μg/dl (<italic>n</italic> = 82) for LC-MS. For the comparison of the two measuring systems, the following results were obtained <italic>R</italic><sup>2</sup> = 0.75 (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion and Clinical Importance</title><p>SDMA can be measured in Hermann's Tortoises and the reference values range in clinically healthy animals is comparable to that of dogs and cats.</p></sec>