Some Observations of Vitamin B6 Deficiency in the Dog

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Abstract
Dogs maintained on a diet containing, of the B vitamins, thiamine, riboflavin, and filtrate factor, but not vitamin B6, developed a severe anemia within 120 to 320 days. Treatment with vitamin B6 concentrates led to a rapid increase of erythrocyte and hemoglobin levels, while treatment with ferrous sulfate produced no response. After 300 days or more on the diet some of the animals developed marked symptoms of cardiac embarrassment, including dyspnea, tachycardia, dilatation and hypertrophy of the right ventricle and right auricle, accumulation of serous fluid in the thorax, and chronic passive congestion of the liver. Degenerative changes were found in the myelin sheaths of the peripheral nerves and of the spinal cords of the experimental animals. These changes were of lighter degree in the control animals, receiving vitamin B6 concentrate, and occurred only in the peripheral nerves. Analyses of the gastric juice carried out in the latter part of the experiment gave a suggestion that in vitamin B6 deficiency there may be a decrease in the secretion of acid and possibly in the volume of juice secreted. Control animals receiving the same diet, except that they were given vitamin B6 concentrate in addition, did not become anemic and showed no evidence of cardiac dysfunction either during life or at autopsy.