In vivo characterization of inflammatory biomarkers in swine and the impact of flunixin meglumine administration

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are a family of chemicals that function to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and they are commonly used in people and animals for this purpose. Currently there are no NSAIDs approved for the management of inflammation in swine due to a lack of validated animal models and suitable biomarkers to assess efficacy. A previous in vitro study examining biomarkers of inflammation identified fourteen genes that were significantly altered in response to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. In the present study, five of those fourteen genes were tested in vivo to determine if the same effects observed in vitro were also observed in vivo. Plasma levels of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), an essential mediator of fever and inflammation, were also determined. Two groups of swine were stimulated with LPS with the second group also treated with flunixin meglumine. Blood was collected at 0, 1, 3, 6, 8, 24, and 48h post LPS-stimulation. The RNA was extracted from the blood and quantitative real-time-PCR (qRT-PCR) was utilized to determine the expression patterns of CD1, CD4, serum amyloid A2 (SAA2), Caspase 1, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1). The LPS-stimulated animals demonstrated a statistically significant alteration in expression of SAA2 and CD1 at 3h post-stimulation. Flunixin meglumine treated animals' demonstrated reduced expression of CD1 in comparison to the LPS-stimulated swine at 24 and 48h post LPS-stimulation. Flunixin meglumine treated animals exhibited reduced expression of SAA2 at 48h post-stimulation compared to LPS-stimulated swine. Swine treated with LPS demonstrated statistically significant increases in plasma PGE(2) at 1h post-stimulation. Swine treated with flunixin meglumine had no increase in plasma PGE(2) levels at any time. These results demonstrate that PGE(2) production, along with two out of five genes (SAA2 and CD1) have the potential to serve as early biomarkers of inflammation as well as indicators of NSAID efficacy.     

Fluorouracil as a treatment for corneal papilloma in a Malayan tapir

A 26-year-old, wild caught, male Malayan tapir at the Miami Metrozoo with bilateral corneal papillomas was serially immobilized and given subconjunctival injections of fluorouracil. Over the course of 17 weeks five bilateral injections of 25 mg fluorouracil were given. This treatment caused regression of the corneal lesions as evidenced by decreased lesion diameter, decreased corneal vascularity, increased corneal clarity, and improved visual function. No adverse drug effects were observed.     

A retrospective study of the clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical manifestations of 5 dogs originally diagnosed histologically as necrotizing scleritis

Purpose To describe the clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical manifestations of canine necrotizing scleritis. Methods A retrospective examination of the clinical records and samples of ocular tissues from five dogs with a histological diagnosis ‘necrotizing scleritis’ was completed. Archived, formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded samples and two control globes were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Gram, periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) and Masson trichrome stains, and they were immunohistochemically labeled for CD3, CD18, and CD20. Results Of the five cases reviewed, only two could be confirmed as idiopathic necrotizing scleritis. The other three cases were retrospectively diagnosed as unilateral focal, non‐necrotizing scleritis, one as episcleritis and the third was scleritis secondary to a proptosed globe based on our retrospective clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical evaluations. In these two cases, idiopathic necrotizing scleritis manifested as a bilateral, progressive, inflammatory disease of the sclera and cornea that induces significant uveitis. Light microscopic examination confirmed collagen degeneration and granulomatous inflammation. There was no evidence for an infectious etiology based on Gram’s and PAS stainings. Immunohistochemical labeling revealed a predominance of B cells in idiopathic, bilateral necrotizing scleritis. Tinctorial staining abnormalities with Masson’s trichrome stain were present in scleral collagen of the two cases with idiopathic necrotizing scleritis as well as a case of secondary traumatic scleritis. Conclusions Based on a limited number of cases, idiopathic canine necrotizing scleritis shares similar histopathological features with non‐necrotizing scleritis and episcleritis; however, necrotizing scleritis is B‐cell‐dominated and bilateral, and significant collagen alterations manifest with Masson’s trichrome stain.     

A review of allergen-specific immunotherapy in human and veterinary medicine

This article reviews allergen-specific immunotherapy in human and veterinary medicine. Current hypotheses of possible mechanisms of actions are outlined. Indications, success rates, adverse effects and factors influencing outcome of therapy are discussed in humans, dogs, cats and horses.     

Annual, career or single race records for breeding value estimation in race horses

The racing careers of 2, 3, 4, and 5-year-old Thoroughbreds and French trotters born in France between 1995 and 1999 were analysed. The horses were evaluated on a set of traits, with particular attention to annual or career earnings and number of starts.

As expected, the distributions of earnings corrected for year, age and sex are very skew and thus inappropriate for breeding value estimations. However, Log transformation results in near normal distributions more suitable for this purpose.

Another problem of annual or career earnings required a more complex approach. As most horses did not win any money in France (67% of the trotters and 41% of the Thoroughbreds), it is difficult to correctly evaluate these horses. On the other hand, a linear adjustment of the Log of earnings by the Log of the number of starts (exponential adjustment of the earning index) leads to regression coefficients close to 1. It justified the use of the Log of earnings per start and explained its higher heritability in literature. A quadratic adjustment of the Log of earnings by the Log of the number of starts (sigmoid adjustment of the earning index) improves the adjustment for the Thoroughbred only and should be implemented for these horses.

The probability of a horse to be placed according to the number of starts was also studied. It is shown that the observed percentage of non-placed horses p_s according to the number of starts, s, is in all cases inferior to the expected percentage (p_s < p₁^s). Therefore, races of the same horse cannot be considered as independent events. The percentage of horses placed and the mean earnings for each age can be combined in order to estimate the economical weights for each age class. Economical weights for the French trotter were 0.00, 0.21, 0.40, and 0.39 for 2, 3, 4, and 5-year olds respectively. They were 0.11, 0.45, 0.26 and 0.18 respectively for Thoroughbreds of the same age categories. The current tendency to move from annual or career criteria towards criteria at the race level is discussed. However, the question on how to evaluate the important proportion of horses born that never appeared in a race still remains open and should focus future research.     

Cataract in the UK Leonberger population

OBJECTIVE: To survey the Leonberger, a numerically small breed in the UK, for the presence of cataract and find statistical support for the possible presence of inherited forms of cataract. METHODS: Ocular examinations were carried out by the first author between September 1996 and September 1998 on 211 Leonbergers; results of the ocular examination of further 228 Leonbergers examined between January 1990 and September 1998 by members of the British Veterinary Association/KC/ISDS eye scheme (BVA/KC/ISDS eye scheme) panel were analyzed. Data from all dogs examined were pooled in a composite database of 365 Leonbergers and the relationships between offspring and parents for the identified forms of cataract were examined with appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS: Cataracts were diagnosed in 90 Leonbergers, the majority being nuclear (40) or posterior polar subcapsular (31). A subgroup of nuclear cataracts, diagnosed in 11 dogs, is described and named as 'posterior nuclear cataract.' For posterior polar cataract, a positive association between offspring and parents was made in the logistic regression model, supporting the suggestion of inheritance. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of several types of cataract in the UK Leonberger population is described. Statistical support for the inheritance of posterior polar subcapsular cataract is given.     

Anticancer vaccines.

With the tools of molecular biology and a greater understanding of mechanisms to harness the immune system, effective tumor immunotherapy is becoming a reality. This new class of therapeutics offers a more targeted, and therefore precise, approach to the treatment of cancer. The recent conditional licensure of a xenogeneic DNA vaccine for advanced canine malignant melanoma strongly suggests that immunotherapy can play an extremely important role alongside the classic cancer treatment triad components of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.     

Parotid duct transposition in dogs: a retrospective review of 92 eyes from 1999 to 2009

Objective The aim of this study was to perform a retrospective review of parotid duct transposition (PDT) in the dog to determine the rate and nature of complications, the success and failure rates and to evaluate owner satisfaction. Methods Medical records of 56 dogs (92 eyes) that underwent PDT and subsequent follow‐up by a veterinary ophthalmologist were reviewed. Forty owners (40 dogs/66 eyes) were contacted by telephone and 37 owners (37 dogs/60 eyes) also completed a visual analog scale questionnaire. Statistical evaluation included Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests, one‐way analysis of variance and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis with Wilcoxon and Log‐rank tests. Results The mean follow‐up was 38.7 months (range 1–109 months). The surgical success rate was 92% (85/92 eyes). Total failures (8%, 7/92 eyes) were because of severe saliva intolerance (n = 5 eyes) and PDT failure (n = 2 eyes). The complication rate was 50% (46/92 eyes) of which 61% (28/46 eyes) were managed medically and 39% (18/46 eyes) required further surgery. Ninety percent (36/40) of owners indicated that they would proceed with surgery again. Statistically significant improvements in owner perception of ocular comfort, number of daily topical treatments, ocular wetness, and postoperative vision were identified. Conclusions This study shows that PDT is a successful procedure based on clinical findings and in terms of owner perception. It has also demonstrated that PDT improves ocular comfort and vision in medically refractive cases of keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and that a low level of on‐going management is required in 33% of cases.