Ameliorative Effects of Omega-3 Concentrate in Managing Coxofemoral Osteoarthritic Pain in Dogs

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of omega-3 concentrate on pain management in dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) at the coxofemoral joint. Totally, 31 dogs with confirmed coxofemoral OA were orthopedically evaluated for pain scores at walk and trot (1-6), joint manipulation (1-3), and examining range of motion (1-4). Besides, blood collection was performed on the first and the last visits. Omega-3 concentrate was orally given to all dogs at one capsule per 10 kg(BW) since the first visit on a daily basis for four consecutive weeks. On a weekly basis, pain scores were assessed for all dogs. Results exhibited that the pain scores at walk and trot, joint manipulation, and examining range of motion between the beginning and the end of the study significantly declined from 3.0 +/- 0.8 to 1.4 +/- 0.6 (P<0.001), 2.5 +/- 0.5 to 1.1 +/- 0.4 (P<0.001), and 3.1 +/- 0.4 to 1.5 +/- 0.5 (P<0.001), respectively. Considering the blood profiles, hepatic and renal enzymes did not statistically alter during the study as could be seen from ALT (51.76 +/- 7.21 vs 46.46 +/- 5.16 U/l, P=0.3066), AST (26.68 +/- 1.37 vs 27.23 +/- 2.08 U/l, P=0.4103), BUN (14.31 +/- 1.00 vs 13.31 +/- 1.28 mg%, P=0.1456), and CR (0.98 +/- 0.0 vs 1.01 +/- 0.03 mg%, P=0.8370). In summary, omega-3 concentrate is one of the new decent alternatives to relieve canine coxofemoral osteoarthritic pain. Not only for pain alleviation, but it could also be given to dogs for 4 consecutive weeks since it does not disrupt hepatic and renal functions.