Somatostatin receptor imaging in vivo by planar scintigraphy facilitates the diagnosis of canine insulinomas

Somatostatin receptors expressed by insulinomas in 5 dogs were imaged in vivo by means of indium in 111 pentetreotide (OctreoScan) scintigraphy. The diagnosis in each dog was supported by the presence of hypoglycemia (<60 mg/dL), hyperinsulinemia (>20 microU/mL), and histopathologic review of neoplastic tissue. All insulinomas expressed high-affinity somatostatin receptors of subtype sst2, as shown by receptor autoradiography in vitro using 125I-[tyrosine3]-octreotide and 125I-[leucine8, Dtryptophan22, tyrosine25]-somatostatin-28 with an sst2 subtype-selective analogue. Scintigrams were obtained at 1, 4, 12, and 24 hours after the i.v. administration of 74-222 MBq of OctreoScan to each patient. Abnormal foci of activity were 1st observed from 1 hour after administration of the radioligand in dog 3, to 24 hours after its administration in dog 4; in dogs 1 and 2, abnormal foci of activity were visible from 12 hours. Dog 5 showed a questionable abnormal focus of activity at 12 hours, but not at 24 hours. Scintigraphy enabled accurate prediction of the anatomical location of the primary tumor in 1 of 4 dogs, but was unable to differentiate a right- from a left-pancreatic lobe tumor, or vice versa, in 3 dogs; the 5th dog had equivocal results. 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy is a useful diagnostic adjunct to the clinical evaluation of the insulinoma patient, but is unable to localize the tumor in some cases.     

IS900 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates from goats and cattle in Norway

In Norway, paratuberculosis has been frequently diagnosed in goats, while cattle have been almost free of the infection. This difference in prevalence between goats and cattle has led to speculations about the existence of a Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (M. a. paratuberculosis) isolate that is non-pathogenic for cattle. There is little information available on genotypic variation of M. a. paratuberculosis isolated from animals in Norway. In the present study, genotypic information on 51 isolates from goats and four isolates from cattle in Norway was obtained by use of IS900 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. All isolates from cattle and 84% of the isolates from goats had the same RFLP pattern (B-C1). Five RFLP patterns not previously detected were found. No genotypic variation that could explain a difference in host origin was found between the isolates from cattle and the majority of the Norwegian goat isolates. This lack of difference indicates that the most common M. a. paratuberculosis isolates in Norway may infect both cattle and goats.     

Surgical advancement of the larynx (laryngeal tie-forward) as a treatment for dorsal displacement of the soft palate in horses: a prospective study 2001-2004

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Correct placement of sutures ('laryngeal tie-forward') in experimentally created dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) has been observed to replace the function of the thyrohyoideus muscles and prevent DDSP. HYPOTHESIS: The 'laryngeal tie-forward' procedure would prevent or delay the occurrence of DDSP during exercise in horses with naturally occurring DDSP and therefore improve performance. METHODS: A clinical population (n = 116), mainly of racehorses was presented for treatment of naturally occurring exercise-induced DDSP. All horses underwent the 'laryngeal tie-forward' procedure. The relative position of the thyroid and cricoid cartilage in relation to the caudal aspect of the basihyoid bone was recorded; follow-up was obtained by telephone communication with trainers, owners and/or referring veterinarians. In addition, a performance index and earnings were determined using race records. RESULTS: Preoperatively, the median distance between the caudal aspect of the basihyoid bone and rostral aspect of the thyroid cartilage was 3.5 cm. Post operatively, the thyroid cartilage was moved a median distance of 4 cm rostrally and the larynx was shown to be in a position more rostral and dorsal than in preoperative radiographs. Of 98 horses for which follow-up was available, the performance of 87% was classified as improved, 12% as unchanged and 2% as worse. In 20 horses in which the diagnosis had been confirmed by treadmill videoendoscopy, 80% had a significantly increased performance index and earnings (P = 0.007). For the entire population, there was a significant improvement in performance index and earnings after surgery (82%) (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Placing the larynx in a more rostral and dorsal position may have improved the performance in 80-82% of the horses affected with naturally-occurring DDSP. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: 'Laryngeal tie-forward' is a surgical technique that has a measurable effect on the position of the larynx and offers an alternative therapy for treating horses affected with DDSP. More experience may be needed with this technique prior to its widespread use in horses with a clinical diagnosis of DDSP.     

Association between subjective lameness grade and kinetic gait parameters in horses with experimentally induced forelimb lameness

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between subjective lameness grades and kinetic gait parameters and assess the variability in kinetic parameters in horses with experimentally induced forelimb lameness. ANIMALS: 32 horses. PROCEDURES: Forelimb lameness was induced in each horse via injection of lipopolysaccharide into 1 metacarpophalangeal joint (40 experimental trials). Subjective lameness grading and 13 kinetic gait parameters (force plate analysis) were assessed before (baseline) and at 12, 18, and 24 hours after lipopolysaccharide injection. While horses were trotting, kinetic gait analysis was performed for 8 valid repetitions at each time point. Repeated-measures analyses were performed with 8 repetitions for each kinetic parameter as the outcome, and lameness grades, time points after lipopolysaccharide injection, and repetition order as explanatory variables. Sensitivity and specificity of kinetic parameters for classification of horses as sound or lame (in relation to subjective lameness scores) were calculated. Between- and within-horse variabilities of the 13 kinetic parameters were assessed by calculation of coefficients of variation. RESULTS: Subjective lameness grades were significantly associated with most of the kinetic parameters. Vertical force peak and impulse had the lowest between- and within-horse coefficients of variation and the highest correlations with subjective lameness grade. Vertical force peak had the highest sensitivity and specificity for lameness classification. Vertical force peak and impulse were significantly decreased even in horses with mild or unobservable lameness. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Among the kinetic gait parameters, vertical force peak and impulse had the best potential to reflect lameness severity and identify subclinical forelimb gait abnormalities.     

Electroencephalographic and electromyographic changes during the use of detomidine and detomidine-butorphanol combination in standing horses

Clinically, the use of detomidine and butorphanol is suitable for sedation and deepening of analgosedation. The aim of our study was to establish the influence of detomidine used alone and a butorphanol-detomidine combination on brain activity and to evaluate and compare brain responses (using electroencephalography, EEG) by recording SEF90 (spectral edge frequency 90%), individual brain wave fractions (beta, alpha, theta and delta) and electromyographic (EMG) changes in the left temporal muscle in standing horses. Ten clinically healthy cold-blooded horses were divided into two groups of five animals each. Group I received detomidine and Group II received detomidine followed by butorphanol 10 min later. SEF90, individual brain wave fractions and EMG were recorded with a pEEG (processed EEG) monitor using computerised processed electroencephalography and electromyography. The present study found that detomidine alone and the detomidine-butorphanol combination significantly reduced SEF90 and EMG, and they caused changes in individual brain wave fractions during sedation and particularly during analgosedation. The EMG results showed that the detomidine-butorphanol combination provided greater and longer muscle relaxation. Our EEG and EMG results confirmed that the detomidine-butorphanol combination is safer and more appropriate for painless and non-painless procedures on standing horses compared to detomidine alone.     

Estimation of the ideal ratio of true ileal digestible sulfur amino acids:lysine in 8- to 26-kg nursery pigs

Four experiments were conducted to determine the ideal ratio of true ileal digestible (TID) sulfur AA to Lys (SAA:LYS) in nursery pigs at two different BW ranges using both DL-Met and 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid (HMTBA) as Met sources. In Exp. 1, 1,549 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 8.3 +/- 0.08 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a semicomplex corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.32% TID Lys) with no supplemental HMTBA or DL-Met (47.7% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 9 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four equimolar levels of DL-Met or HMTBA (52.7, 57.7, 62.7, and 67.7% TID SAA:LYS). In Exp. 2, 330 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 11.4 +/- 0.10 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.15% TID Lys) with no supplemental HMTBA or DL-Met (49% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 9 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four equimolar levels of DL-Met or HMTBA (54, 59, 64, and 69% TID SAA:LYS). In Exp. 3, 1,544 nursery pigs (Triumph 4 x PIC Camborough 22; initial BW 12.4 +/- 0.13 kg) were allotted to one of nine dietary treatments as in Exp. 2. In Exp. 4, 343 nursery pigs (Genetiporc; initial BW 12.8 +/- 0.56 kg) were allotted to one of six dietary treatments. The basal diet (Diet 1) was a corn-soybean meal-based diet (1.05% TID Lys) with no supplemental DL-Met (49% TID SAA:LYS). Diets 2 to 5 consisted of the basal diet supplemented with four levels of DL-Met (54, 59, 64, and 69% TID SAA:LYS), and Diet 6 was the basal diet supplemented with one equimolar level of HMTBA to satisfy 59% TID SAA:LYS ratio. In all experiments, increasing the TID SAA:LYS ratio resulted in quadratic improvements in ADG (P < or = 0.09) and G:F (P < or = 0.05). Three different methods were used to estimate the optimal TID SAA:LYS ratio for each experiment. The two-slope broken-line regression model, x-intercept value of the broken-line and quadratic curve, and 95% of upper asymptote across the four experiments indicated that the average optimal TID SAA:LYS ratios were 59.3, 60.1, and 57.7% for ADG and 60.6, 61.7, and 60.1% for G:F, respectively. Thus, the optimal TID SAA:LYS ratio for 8- to 26-kg pigs based on the average value of these three estimates was 59.0% for ADG and 60.8% for G:F.     

Magnetic resonance imaging appearance of the brain and cervical spinal cord in an edema disease affected pig

A 7‐week‐old male pig was presented with signs of a central nervous system disorder. An MRI of the head and cervical spine was performed immediately after euthanasia. The MRI revealed multifocal bilaterally symmetric T2‐weighted hyperintense lesions in the brain and spinal cord, likely due to a toxic metabolic process. Histopathological examination supported the MRI findings and confirmed the diagnosis of edema disease due to Shiga‐like toxin produced by Escherichia coli. This is the first case published of the MRI findings in an edema disease affected pig.