An aid to recovery in convalescing cats and dogs

Conval-S

L-carnitine is small peptide that is essential in all animals for the production of energy.

The natural source of L-carnitine is fresh meat and milk, however manufactured pet foods frequently contain less than 5% of the L-carnitine of fresh meat. With the vast majority of pets being fed on manufactured diets, supplies of L-carnitine in the diet are often insufficient.

Synthesis in the body occurs, mostly in the liver, however skeletal and heart muscles, which use 95-98% of the supplies, cannot synthesise their own L-carnitine and this explains why deficiency most commonly occurs in these tissues. The dog in particular, is a species predisposed to a deficiency of L-carnitine. This is because there is a high level of L-carnitine excretion via the urine and very little re-absorption through the renal tubules.

Heart and Liver Disease

Conval-S is most commonly used in dogs diagnosed with certain types of heart disease(dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in those with the muscle wasting disorder, Canine Degenerative Radiculo Myopathy (CDRM) and in animals with Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver Syndrome) this occurs most commonly in convalescing animals.

This is because convalescence is accompanied by an increase in energy requirement due to a circa 10 day period of increased metabolism. At the same time, stress causes massive mobilisation of fat reserves. L-Carnitine enhances the energy value of circulating fatty acids by ensuring their passage at the cellular level into the mitochondria (micro-bodies contained in every living cell which generate energy), where they are oxidised to give ATP; the chemical of energy. In this way L-carnitine permits the best response to this increase in energy requirement.

In cats with weight loss and inappetance and those in states of stress the fat reserves are massively mobilised and tend to accumulate in the liver. L-carnitine limits this phenomenon and stimulates the oxidation of these fatty acids. Conval-S is particularly useful in hospitalised cats which will not eat.

The recommended application rate is 50 to 100mg/kg L-carnitine for 10 to 20 days.

There are two formulations of Conval-S

Conval-S: packed in 60 ml bottles, contains L-carntine at 200mg/ml
Conval-S40: packed in 250 ml bottles, contains L-carntine at 400mg/ml