Treatment of canine aural haernatorna using an indwelling drain and corticosteroids

Aural haematomas were treated using a Pen-rose tissue drain inserted through the haematoma and left in situ for two weeks. Oral prednisolone was prescribed at a dose of 2 mg/kg for two weeks then 1 mg/kg for a further two weeks. Twenty-nine haematomas were treated in 22 dogs. Twenty-six cases resolved after a single treatment. Three ears required a second treatment two to four weeks after the initial treatment and one dog had a postoperative infection of the drain tract. No ears required more than one repeated drainage. Good cosmetic results were achieved in all cases.     

Obituary: James Thomas Kelly,BVSc

Extract

On 28 August 1987 James Thomas Kelly, veterinary surgeon, of Milson Line, Palmerston North, died at 68 years of age.     

Cardiac troponins in canine babesiosis

This study compared the sensitivity of ECG and cardiac troponins to predict cardiac histopathological changes, clinical severity, and survival in canine babesiosis. One control group (n = 9) and 4 groups of dogs with mild uncomplicated babesiosis (n = 8), severe uncomplicated babesiosis (n = 9), complicated babesiosis (n = 8), and babesiosis and concurrent immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) (n = 9) were studied. A 1-minute lead II ECG was recorded, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and T (cTnT) concentrations in plasma were measured. cTnI concentrations were significantly higher in the complicated (mean, 9.9; SE, +/-5.76) and concurrent IMHA (mean, 6.53; SE, +/-4.32) groups and in the 3 dogs that died of the disease (mean, 22.17; SE, +/-12.85) than in the control dogs (concentration below detection limit of test, -0.3 ng/mL). The 3 nonsurvivors had the most severe cardiac histopathological changes, but no arrhythmia and minimal other ECG changes. Dogs with babesiosis developed a variety of ECG abnormalities, but the abnormalities were not associated with disease severity, outcome, or plasma cardiac troponin concentrations. The exception was the presence of ventricular premature complexes (VPCs), which were associated with high cardiac troponin concentrations. This study showed an association between cTnI concentration and histological changes, clinical severity, and survival and no correlation between ECG abnormalities and histological changes or biochemical evidence of myocardial damage as reflected by cTnI concentrations. From this study, it was concluded that the analysis of plasma cTnI is a feasible and sensitive test and is superior to cTnT in diagnosing cardiac involvement in dogs with babesiosis.     

Computed tomographic osteoabsorptiometry of the elbow joint in clinically normal dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate subchondral bone density patterns in elbow joints of clinically normal dogs by use of computed tomographic (CT) osteoabsorptiometry. SAMPLE POPULATION: 20 cadaver forelimbs from 10 clinically normal dogs. PROCEDURE: Each elbow joint was imaged in parasagittal and transverse planes of 1.5-mm thickness. Slice data were converted to dipotassium phosphate equivalent density (PPED) values. Sagittal, parasagittal, and transverse medial coronoid process topographic maps were constructed. Defined zones were created for each of the 3 CT planes, and confluence and peak PPED values were determined. RESULTS: The lowest PPED value was 340 mg/ml (articular and subchondral confluence), and the highest was 1780 mg/ml (peak subchondral density). Detectable effects of joint laterality were not found in the confluence or peak PPED measurements or in the peak-to-confluence PPED ratio for all 3 CT planes. Significant differences were found among zones in all 3 planes for confluence and peak PPED measurements and between sagittal and transverse planes for peak-to-confluence PPED ratios. Subjectively, the pattern of density distribution among dogs was fairly consistent for the sagittal and parasagittal slices. Three specific patterns of density distribution were apparent on the transverse topographic maps of the medial coronoid process that corresponded to conformational differences. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of CT osteoabsorptiometry provides a repeatable technique that can be used to noninvasively examine bone density and the effects of stress acting on joints in vivo. Variability in density values for any of the CT planes was not identified among clinically normal dogs.     

Radiotherapy isocenters verified by matching to bony landmarks of the canine and feline head differ when localized using volumetric versus planar imaging

The “gold standard” for verification of patient positioning before linear accelerator‐based stereotactic radiation therapy is kilovoltage cone‐beam computed tomography (kV‐CBCT), which is not uniformly available or utilized; planar imaging is sometimes used instead. The primary aim of this study was to determine if the position of the bony skull, when used as a surrogate for isocenter verification, is different when orthogonal megavoltage (MV) portal or kilovoltage (kV/kV) radiographs are used for image guidance, rather than kV‐CBCT. A secondary aim was to determine the influence of intra‐observer variability, body size and skull conformation on positioning, as determined using these three imaging modalities. Dogs and cats receiving radiotherapy of the head were recruited for this prospective analytical study. Planar (MV portal and kV/kV images) and volumetric (kV‐CBCT) images were acquired before treatment, and manually coregistered with reference images. Differences in skull position when matched based on MV portal, kV/kV images and kV‐CBCT were compared. A total of 65 subjects and 148 unique datasets were evaluated. The Wilcoxon rank‐sum test was used to evaluate effects of transitioning between imaging modalities. When comparing magnitude of shifts in MV to kV‐CBCT, MV to kV/kV and kV/kV to kV‐CBCT, there were statistically significant differences. Results were not measurably impacted by body size, skull conformation or interobserver differences. Based on shift magnitude and direction, an isotropic setup margin of at least 1 mm should be incorporated within the planning target volume when MV or kV planar imaging is used for position verification.     

Molecular evidence of Leishmania spp. in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) from The Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve,Veracruz, Mexico

Veterinary Research Communications - The black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) is a platyrrhine primate distributed in southern Mexico, Central America, and part of South America. Two...     

Quantification of fatty acids in forages by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was evaluated as a possible alternative to gas chromatography (GC) for the quantitative analysis of fatty acids in forages. Herbage samples from 11 greenhouse-grown forage species (grasses, legumes, and forbs) were collected at three stages of growth. Samples were freeze-dried, ground, and analyzed by GC and NIRS techniques. Half of the 195 samples were used to develop an NIRS calibration file for each of eight fatty acids, with the remaining half used as a validation data set. Spectral data, collected over a wavelength range of 1100-2498 nm, were regressed against GC data to develop calibration equations for lauric (C12:0), myristic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), and alpha-linolenic (C18:3) acids. Calibration equations had high coefficients of determination for calibration (0.93-0.99) and cross-validation (0.89-0.98), and standard errors of calibration and cross-validation were < 20% of the respective means. Simple linear regressions of NIRS results against GC data for the validation data set had r2 values ranging from 0.86 to 0.97. Regression slopes for C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C16:1, C18:2, and C18:3 were not significantly different (P = 0.05) from 1.0. The regression slope for C18:1 was 1.1. The ratio of standard error of prediction to standard deviation was > 3.0 for all fatty acids except C12:0 (2.6) and C14:0 (2.9). Validation statistics indicate that NIRS has high prediction ability for fatty acids in forages. Calibration equations developed using data for all plant materials accurately predicted concentrations of C16:0, C18:2, and C18:3 in individual plant species. Accuracy of prediction was less, but acceptable, for fatty acids (C12:0, C14:0, C18:0, C16:1, and C18:1) that were less prevalent.     

Biofortification of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit with the anticancer compound methylselenocysteine using a selenocysteine methyltransferase from a selenium hyperaccumulator

Methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys) is an amino acid derivative that possesses potent anticancer activity in animals. Plants that can tolerate growth on soils with high Se content, known as Se hyperaccumulators, do so by converting inorganic Se to MeSeCys by the enzyme selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT). A cDNA encoding the SMT from a Se hyperaccumulator was overexpressed in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Transgenic plants were provided with selenite or selenate to the roots during fruit development, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to show that MeSeCys accumulated in the fruit but not in the leaves. Depending on the transgenic line and Se treatment, up to 16% of the total Se in the fruit was present as MeSeCys. MeSeCys was produced more effectively from selenite on a percentage conversion basis, but greater accumulation of MeSeCys could be achieved from selenate due to its better translocation from the roots. MeSeCys was heat stable and survived processing of the fruit to tomato juice.