Feline pansteatitis: a report of five cases.

Pansteatitis (yellow fat disease, panniculitis, steatitis) is an inflammatory disease of adipose tissue throughout the body 1987). It was first experimentally induced by in 1946 in cats fed a diet deficient in vita-min E and high in cod liver oil 1946). It has since been reported as a clinical condition by several authors 1953, 1973, 1975, 1982, 1986). Pansteatitis occurs naturally in cats, mink, and pigs as a result of vitamin E E (α-tocopherol) is a biological antioxidant found in vegetable oils 1987). It serves as a protector of the fats in the diet and in the body. Pansteatitis is caused by a mismatch between intake of unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, i.e. vitamin E. The ensu-ing peroxidation of the body fat causes a for-eign body reaction with severe inflammation and cell death. The foremost clinical sign is hy-peraesthesia or severe pain on palpation/han-dling, especially over the back and of the abdo-men. The final diagnosis rests with the histo-logical findings of the above-mentioned lesions in conjunction with acid-fast ceroid pigment (i.e. end-product of lipid peroxidation) in fat cells, in macrophages, in Langhans-type giant cells, and extracellularly 1987).