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My senior dog has seizures. What do high SDMA and low protein mean?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | French Bulldog | Female | spayed | 11 years and 1 month old | 29 lbs

My 11 year old french bulldog started developing seizures over the past 3 days. 1-2 seizures a day. We initially believed it to be poisoning from eating a trumpet vine in the backyard. However, our vet believes it is likely a brain tumor causing the seizures. The blood work shows increased creatine kinase levels (from the seizures) but what does elevated SDMA and the low protein levels indicate? Thank you!

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rebecca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 20th, 2017

The SDMA shows there may be some decline in Pelli's kidney function. But as other parameters of kidney function as normal I suspect it is early renal disease and not necessarily related to her seizures. Decreased kidney function may also explain low protein if she is losing protein from her kidneys. Your vet may recommend sending out a urinalysis if it was not done yet and or repeating some of these tests in a few days or weeks. I would consider talking to your vet about referral to a neurologist since Pelli's seizures seem to be so sudden and frequent. Unfortunately a primary brain lesion or tumor is high on the list for an older Frenchie. Good luck for Pelli

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm sorry to hear that Pelli is going through this situation! Elevated SDMA indicates that Pelli has some decline in her kidney function, which can also be related to the elevated creatinine kinase (elevations in the creatinine kinase can falsely decrease the creatinine levels). Low protein can occur as a result of gastrointestinal protein loss, liver failure, kidney loss of protein, among others. The mild changes with Pelli's kidneys may be an incidental finding on this blood work and may be unrelated to her current seizures. The only way to definitively diagnose a brain tumor is through an MRI, but this requires general anesthesia and can be a significant cost. If you choose to go this route, it may be worth taking Pelli to a veterinary neurologist for further evaluation. I hope that all goes well!

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