Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Background: Imepitoin was tested as a combination treatment with phenobarbital in an open-label mono-centre\ncohort study in dogs with drug-resistant epilepsy. Diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy was based on clinical findings,\nmagnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Three cohorts were treated. In cohort A, dogs not\nresponding to phenobarbital with or without established add-on treatment of potassium bromide or levetiracetam\nwere treated add-on with imepitoin, starting at 10 mg/kg BID, with titration allowed to 30 mg/kg BID. In cohort B,\nthe only difference to cohort A was that the starting dose of imepitoin was reduced to 5 mg/kg BID. In cohort C,\nanimals not responding to imepitoin at >20 mg/kg BID were treated with phenobarbital add-on starting at\n0.5 mg/kg BID.\nResults: The add-on treatment resulted in a reduction in monthly seizure frequency (MSF) in all three cohorts.\nA reduction of �50% was obtained in 36-42% of all animals, without significant difference between cohorts.\nThe lower starting dose of 5 mg/kg BID imepitoin was better tolerated, and an up-titration to on average of\n15 mg/kg BID was sufficient in cohort A and B. In cohort C, a mean add-on dose of 1.5 mg/kg BID phenobarbital was\nsufficient to achieve a clinically meaningful effect. Six dogs developed a clinically meaningful increase in MSF of � 50%,\nmostly in cohort A. Neither imepitoin nor phenobarbital add-on treatment was capable of suppressing cluster seizure\nactivity, making cluster seizure activity an important predictor for drug-resistance.\nConclusion: A combination treatment of imepitoin and phenobarbital is a useful treatment option for a subpopulation\nof dogs with drug-resistant epilepsy, a low starting dose with 5 mg/kg BID is recommended....
Background: Urate urolithiasis is a common problem in breed homozygous for the mutation that results in\nhyperuricosuria. Low purine diets have been recommended to reduce purine intake in these dogs.\nMethods: A higher protein, purine restricted diet with water added was evaluated in dogs with genetic\nhyperuricosuria and a history of clinical urate urolithiasis over a one year time period. Dogs were evaluated at\nbaseline and 2, 6, and 12 months after initiating the test diet. Bloodwork, urinalysis, abdominal ultrasound, body\ncomposition, and 24-h urinary purine metabolite analyses were performed.\nResults: Transient, mild, self-limited lower urinary tract signs were noted in only one dog on a single day, despite\nvariable but usually mild and occasionally moderate amounts of echogenic bladder stones (<2-3 mm in size) in\nalmost every dog at each visit. No significant differences were noted in urine specific gravity, urine pH, lean body\ncondition score or body composition. Urinary uric acid concentration was lower on the test diet (p = 0.008), but\n24-h uric acid excretions were similar (p = 0.220) compared to baseline. Significant differences between least squares\nmean plasma amino acid concentrations measured at the 0 and 12-month visits were found only for valine (p = 0.0119)\nand leucine (p = 0.0017).\nConclusion: This study suggests the use of a low purine, higher protein diet with added water may be beneficial as\npart of the management of dogs with genetic hyperuricosuria and history of clinical urate urolithiasis....
Lens fibre differentiation is a life-long process related with lens transparency,\nand is particularly intense during development, being related with an FGF-2\nantero-posterior gradient at the equator level as the main growth factor involved\nwhich has been related with the basal membrane of the lens anlagen\nknown as ââ?¬Å?Lens capsule ââ?¬Â. However the lens fibre differentiation induced by\nFGF2 depends, as in other biological systems, on the local bioavailability of\nFGF-2 regulated by their relationship with extracellular matrix molecules as\nHeparan Sulphate Proteoglycans. Here, we try to clarify how Perlecan (a\nheparan sulphate proteoglycan specific from basement membranes) is involved\nin lens fibre differentiation at earliest stages of eye development. Our results\nshow that Perlecan, is a major component in the lens capsule during the earliest\nstages of lens development in chick embryos being present during lens\nplate induction, lens vesicle stage and the onset of lens fibre differentiation. In\norder to demonstrate a direct involvement of HSPG-Perlecan in lens fibre differentiation,\nwe generate depleted lenses by HSPG-Perlecan synthesis disruption\nand specific enzymatic digestion. The HSPG-Perlecan depleted lens show a significant\ndelay or abolition in the lens fibre differentiation which remains in an\nimmature cells displaying DNA synthesis in the posterior epithelium and a decrease\nin FGF2 lens expression. These data support the hypothesis that lens\ncapsule HSPG-Perlecan is a key molecule involved in lens fibre differentiation\nduring development, probably by involvement in FGF-2 biodisponibility....
Background: Renal cortical echogenicity is routinely evaluated during ultrasonographic investigation of the\nkidneys. Both in dog and cat previous ex-vivo studies have revealed a poor correlation between renal echogenicity\nand corresponding lesions. The aim of this study was to establish the in-vivo relationship between renal cortical\nechogenicity and renal histopathology.\nResults: Thirty-eight dogs and fifteen cats euthanized for critical medical conditions were included in the study.\nUltrasonographic images of both kidneys were acquired ante mortem at standardized ultrasonographic settings.\nThe echogenicity was quantified by means of Mean Gray Value (MGV) of the renal cortex measured with ImageJ.\nA complete histopathological examination of both kidneys was performed. Five kidneys were excluded because\nhistopathology revealed neoplastic lesions. Only samples affected by tubular atrophy showed statistically different\nvalues in dog, and histopathology explained 13% of the total variance. MGV was not correlated neither to the\ndegeneration nor to the inflammation scores. However, significant differences were identified between mildly\nand severely degenerated samples. Overall, the classification efficiency of MGV to detect renal lesions was poor\nwith a sensitivity of 39% and a specificity of 86%.\nIn cats, samples affected by both tubular vacuolar degeneration and interstitial nephritis were statistically different\nand histopathology explained 44% of the total variance. A linear correlation was evident between degeneration\nand MGV, whereas no correlation with inflammation was found. Statistically significant differences were evident\nonly between normal and severely degenerated samples with a sensitivity of 54.17% and a specificity of 83.3%\nand MGV resulted scarce to discriminate renal lesions in this species....
Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrinopathy of cats that is characterized by persistent\nfasting hyperglycemia. However, stress induces substantial hyperglycemia in cats that poses a\nchallenge to the veterinarian who may wrongly interpret the high serum concentration of blood\nglucose as evidence of diabetes mellitus. Fructosamine is a glycated serum protein that serves as\nan index of glycemic control in cats and is useful because it is not affected by stress hyperglycemia.\nHowever, factors such as body weight, hypoproteinemia, and increased serum thyroid hormone\nconcentration can alter fructosamine concentration. The goal of this retrospective study was\nto compare the fructosamine concentrations in diabetic and nondiabetic cats with and without\nuncontrolled hyperthyroidism. A secondary goal was to determine the effect of sex, age, different\npopulations of cats, and diabetes on the variability of fructosamine. We found that the mean (Ã?±SE)\nserum fructosamine of hyperthyroid diabetic cats (332 Ã?± 24 Ã?¼mol/L, 95% CI 291ââ?¬â??379 Ã?¼mol/L)\nwas within the population-based reference interval (200ââ?¬â??360 Ã?¼mol/L) and significantly lower in\ncomparison to euthyroid diabetic cats (527 Ã?± 10 Ã?¼mol/L, 95% CI 515ââ?¬â??553 Ã?¼mol/L). Additionally,\nin this study, diabetes accounted only for approximately 50% of the variance in serum fructosamine,\nwhile age, sex, and population made a minor contribution to this variance. In conclusion, finding\nserum fructosamine that is within the population-based reference interval in an uncontrolled diabetic\ncat should alert the veterinarian to the possibility of concurrent hyperthyroidism. Additionally,\nthe veterinary clinician should consider that serum fructosamine might be substantially affected by\nfactors other than diabetes....
Background: The purpose of this study was to measure the muscular activation in four forelimb muscles while\ndogs performed agility tasks (i.e., jumping and A-frame) and to provide insight into potential relationships between\nlevel of muscular activation and risk of injury. Muscle activation in eight healthy, client-owned agility dogs was\nmeasured using ultrasound-guided fine-wire electromyography of four specific forelimb muscles: Biceps Brachii,\nSupraspinatus, Infraspinatus, and Triceps Brachii ââ?¬â?? Long Head, while dogs performed a two jump sequence and\nwhile dogs ascended and descended an A-frame obstacle at two different competition heights.\nResults: The peak muscle activations during these agility tasks were between 1.7 and 10.6 fold greater than\nwalking. Jumping required higher levels of muscle activation compared to ascending and descending an A-frame,\nfor all muscles of interest. There was no significant difference in muscle activation between the two A-frame\nheights.\nConclusions: Compared to walking, all of the muscles were activated at high levels during the agility tasks and our\nfindings indicate that jumping is an especially demanding activity for dogs in agility. This information is broadly\nrelevant to understanding the pathophysiology of forelimb injuries related to canine athletic activity....
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