Comparative approach to understanding traumatic injury in the immature, postnatal brain of domestic animals

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a frequent occurrence in veterinary medicine, but the mechanisms leading to brain damage after a head impact are incompletely understood, particularly in the postnatal immature and still developing nervous system. This paper reviews neurotrauma studies, largely in paediatric humans and experimental animal models, in order to outline the pathophysiological and biomechanical events likely to be operative in head trauma involving domestic animal species in the postnatal period, as there is almost no other information available in the veterinary literature. Predicting the outcome of TBI is particularly difficult at this developmental time, in large part because recovery is influenced by the stage of brain maturation and neuroplasticity. An important part of the clinical management of TBI is the differentiation of primary brain damage, which occurs at the moment of head impact and is largely refractory to treatment, from the cascade of secondary events, which evolve over time and are potentially preventable and amenable to therapeutic intervention. An understanding of the causes and consequences of secondary brain damage such as hypoxia-ischaemia, brain swelling, elevated intracranial pressure, and infection is critical to limiting the resulting brain injury.     

The immune response to anesthesia: Part 1

ObjectiveTo review the immune response to anesthesia including mechanical ventilation, inhaled anesthetic gases, and injectable anesthetics and sedatives.Study designReview.Methods and databasesMultiple literature searches were performed using PubMed and Google Scholar from spring 2012 through fall 2013. Relevant anesthetic and immune terms were used to search databases without year published or species constraints. The online database for Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia and the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care were searched by issue starting in 2000 for relevant articles.ConclusionRecent research data indicate that commonly used volatile anesthetic agents, such as isoflurane and sevoflurane, may have a protective effect on vital organs. With the lung as the target organ, protection using an appropriate anesthetic protocol may be possible during direct pulmonary insults, including mechanical ventilation, and during systemic disease processes, such as endotoxemia, generalized sepsis, and ischemia-reperfusion injury.     

Risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries of the lower limbs in Thoroughbred racehorses in New Zealand

AIM: To investigate risk factors for injury to musculoskeletal structures of the lower fore- and hind-limbs of Thoroughbred horses training and racing in New Zealand.

METHODS: A case-control study analysed by logistic regression was used to compare explanatory variables for musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) in racehorses. The first dataset, termed the Training dataset, involved 459 first-occurrence cases of lower-limb MSI in horses in training, and the second, the Starting dataset, comprised a subset of those horses that had started in at least one trial or race in the training preparation that ended with MSI (n=294). All training preparations for horses that did not suffer from MSI for which complete data were available were used in the analyses as controls, and provided 2,181 and 1,639 preparations for the Training and Starting datasets, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate risk factors, and results were reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS: Horses aged ≥5 years were at higher risk of injury than 2-year-olds. Elevated odds of MSI occurred in horses in the Starting dataset that were training in the 1997–1998 year compared with the 1999–2000 year, and in those horses where trials comprised >20% of all starts in a preparation. Training preparations that ended in winter, and horses in their third or later training preparation, had lower odds of MSI compared with those ending in other seasons or the first preparation, respectively. Reduced odds of MSI were observed in preparations in which starts occurred compared with those that had no starts, and in the Starting dataset, preparations that included more than one start had a reduced likelihood of MSI compared with preparations that had only one start. In the Training dataset, preparations longer than 20 weeks were associated with reduced odds of MSI compared with those shorter than 20 weeks.

Cumulative racing distance in the last 30 days of a training preparation was best modelled with linear and quadratic terms. Results indicated that increasing cumulative racing distances were associated with an initial reduction in the odds of MSI that then levelled out and finally appeared to increase again as the explanatory variable continued to increase. The risk of MSI varied significantly between trainers.

CONCLUSION: This study identified intrinsic (age) and extrinsic risk factors for MSI in training and racing Thoroughbreds in New Zealand. The risk of MSI initially decreased, then increased, as cumulative racing distance increased. Significant variation between trainers indicated management and training methods influence the risk of MSI.     

Clinical abnormalities detected in post-race examinations of poorly performing Standardbreds

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical abnormalities found on post-race examination of poorly performing Standardbreds. METHOD: The results of 541 post-race veterinary examinations on Standardbreds were analysed. The horses were selected for examination by the stipendiary stewards on the basis of poor performance from a population of approximately 20,000 runners which competed at Harold Park Paceway, Sydney. RESULTS: Clinical abnormalities were detected on post-race examination in 264 of the 541 poorly performing horses. Some horses displayed more than one abnormality. Twenty three individual abnormalities were reported. Seventy three horses had suffered interference-type injuries (cross firing, scalping, over reaching) during the race. Lameness was the second most commonly found abnormality (n = 60), with 73% of these lamenesses being in a forelimb. Twenty nine horses had sacroiliac pain (representing 10.6% of the abnormalities detected). Poor recovery, exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage, respiratory infection or nasal discharge, gluteal pain, unilateral nasal haemorrhage and mouth injuries complete the list of the ten most common findings. CONCLUSION: Interference-type injuries, lameness and sacroiliac pain were the most common abnormalities found on post-race examination of Standardbreds, which performed poorly.     

Impact of endotracheal tube size and cuff pressure on tracheal and laryngeal mucosa of adult horses

ObjectiveTo assess the effects of two sizes of silicone endotracheal tubes with internal diameter 26 mm (ETT₂₆) and 30 mm (ETT₃₀) inflated to minimum occlusive volume on tracheal and laryngeal mucosa of adult horses anesthetized for 2 hours with isoflurane.Study designProspective, randomized, blinded, crossover experimental study.AnimalsA total of eight healthy adult mares.MethodsUpper airway endoscopy and ultrasound measurements of internal tracheal diameter were performed the day before anesthesia. Horses were anesthetized and orotracheally intubated with ETT₂₆ or ETT₃₀. Ease of intubation was scored. The cuff was inflated in 10 mL increments to produce a seal. Final volume of air used and intracuff (IC) pressure (measured by pressure transducer) were recorded. At the end of anesthesia, a manometer was used to measure IC pressure and these measurements compared against measurements from the pressure transducer. Laryngeal and tracheal mucosa were assessed via endoscopy and assigned a score 0–3 before anesthesia, and at 2 and 24 hours following extubation.ResultsData are from seven horses because one horse with laryngeal hemiplegia was excluded. Mean tracheal ultrasound measurement was 3.5 ± 0.4 cm. No significant differences were noted between endotracheal tube sizes for intubation score, IC pressures, inflation volumes or tracheal or laryngeal injury scores at any time point. IC pressure measured by manometer was slightly higher than that by transducer (+1.0 ± 2.8 mmHg).Conclusions and clinical relevanceResults identified no clear advantage of one endotracheal tube size over the other in the population of horses studied, when endotracheal intubation is properly applied and IC pressure is carefully monitored. However, given that ETT₂₆ was associated with the highest observed IC pressures and the only observed incidents of tracheal circumferential erythema, the larger ETT₃₀ may be the better choice in most cases where tracheal size is sufficient.     

Injury Induces a Change in the Functional Characteristics of Cells Recovered from Equine Tendon

Injury initiates a repair process characterized by influx of fibroblasts and the rapid formation of fibrous scar tissue and subsequent tissue contraction. The response to injury and behavior of the different tendon fibroblast populations, however, has been poorly characterized. We hypothesized that the fibroblasts recovered from tendon with acute injury would exhibit different cell properties relating to adhesion, migration and tensegrity. To test this hypothesis we evaluated the ability of fibroblasts recovered from normal and injured equine superficial digital flexor tendons (SDFTs). The injured tendon-derived cells showed greater contraction of the collagen gel but poorer adhesion to pepsin-digested collagen, and migration over extracellular matrix proteins compared to normal SDFT-derived fibroblasts. Thus, the cells present within the tendon after injury display different behavior related to wound healing.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of two suspected cases of global brain ischemia

Objective: To describe the clinical findings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of two animals with suspected global brain ischemia (GBI). Series summary: Two brachycephalic animals (Persian cat and Boston terrier) presented for altered mentation, blindness, ataxia, and seizures after being anesthetized. Common to both anesthetic protocols was ketamine. Clinically, the neurological deficits developed rapidly and did not progress after the initial 24 hours. MRI findings were most consistent with GBI. MRI, including pre‐ and post‐T1 weighted, T2 weighted, and fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) studies, was used to image these animals. Abnormalities were seen post‐T1, T2, and FLAIR. Both animals improved neurologically with supportive care over several weeks, but both remained blind. New information: The use of MRI for diagnosing GBI.     

急性肺损伤动物模型的研究现状

急性肺损伤是现代危重医学的一大难题,发病机制尚未完全阐明,制备动物模型是研究急性肺损伤发病机制的基础,也是其研究的一个热点和难点。作者综述了目前急性肺损伤动物模型的研究现状。     

几种仔猪肠道损伤模型的建立及肠道损伤生物标志物的研究进展

肠道不仅是所有营养物质消化吸收的最终场所,也是动物体内最大的免疫器官,是机体防御体系的第一道屏障,维护动物肠道健康对保障养猪生产至关重要。肠道是机体应激反应的中心器官,各种应激因素致使肠道结构损伤与功能紊乱,从而导致仔猪健康不良与生长受阻。因此,建立稳定可靠的肠道损伤模型是研究仔猪肠道损伤机制及营养干预的关键,本文主要介绍了本实验室成功建立的几种仔猪肠道损伤模型,筛选了几种肠道功能紊乱的标志性分子,为猪和人类的肠道功能障碍研究及营养干预提供参考。     

几种除草剂对桑树的药害试验

桑园常用除草剂有草甘磷、百草枯和乙草胺等。研究表明,三种药剂以推荐用量施用,均不会对桑树造成药害;施用乙草胺推荐用量两倍以上,桑树出现药害,且有逐步加重趋势,在混配药物中也发生类似现象;正确使用下,草甘磷、百草枯在低于推荐用量4倍以下对桑树也无药害发生。     

Activation of complement system in kidney after ketoprofen-induced kidney injury in sheep

Background

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to treat inflammatory pain in humans and animals. An overdose of an NSAID is nephrotoxic and can lead to acute kidney injury (AKI). Complement activation occurs in several types of renal disorders with proteinuria. The aim of this study was to investigate whether complement system becomes activated in kidneys after a high dose of NSAID. Kidney tissue and urine samples were collected from six sheep with ketoprofen-induced AKI and from six healthy control sheep. The localization of complement proteins in kidney tissue was carried out using immunohistochemical stainings, and excretion of C3 was tested by immunoblotting.

Results

The complement system was found to become activated in the kidney tissue as demonstrated by positive immunostaining for C1q, C3c, C4c, C5, C9 and factor H and by Western blotting analysis of C3 activation products in urine samples in sheep with AKI.

Conclusions

Our results thus suggest that the alternative complement pathway is activated, and it may contribute to the acute tubular injury seen in the kidneys of NSAID-induced AKI sheep. Inhibition of complement activation may serve as potential therapeutic target for intervention in drug-induced AKI.