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Latest Issue: Issue 6

  1. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
  2. Evaluation of a Therapeutic Diet for Feline Degenerative Joint Disease
  3. B.D.X. Lascelles, V. DePuy, A. Thomson, B. Hansen, D.J. Marcellin-Little, V. Biourge, and J.E. Bauer, (2010)
  4. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 24:487-495
  1. Show SummaryShow Summary

    Treatment of feline degenerative joint disease is problematic for various reasons including detecting the disease, selecting a safe and effective drug and administering to an uncooperative patient. This study evaluated the use of a therapeutic diet high in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content and supplemented with green-lipped mussel extract and glucosamine/chondroitin sulphate. A prospective, double-blinded placebo controlled trial was performed in 40 cats, which were assigned to the test diet or a control diet at random. Cats were assessed subjectively by owners and vets, and objective measures of activity using accelerometry were performed. Cats on the control diet deteriorated on objective measures, and cats on the therapeutic diet improved on objective measurements, and the differences were significant. The authors suggest that this type of diet be considered as a therapeutic option for the treatment of degenerative joint disease in cats.

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  1. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
  2. Necrotizing Cerebellitis and Cerebellar Atrophy Caused by Neospora caninum Infection: Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Clinicopathologic Findings in Seven Dogs
  3. L. Garosi, A. Dawson, J. Couturier, L. Matiasek, A. de Stefani, E. Davies, N. Jeffery, and P. Smith, (2010)
  4. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 24:571-578
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    Neospora caninum is a protozoal infection which can cause neurological and muscular disease in dogs. The location of the disease within the neurological system can be varied. This retrospective descriptive study focussed on disease of the cerebellum caused by this organism. 7 dogs between the ages of 18 months and 10 years were included in the study. MRI showed bilaterally symmetrical cerebellar atrophy. CSF analysis in 6/7 dogs showed a mononuclear pleocytosis and high protein concentration. There was a positive PCR test on CSF in 4/5 dogs in which it was tested, and a high titre to Neospora antibodies in the serum of all 6 of the dogs tested for this. One dog was euthanased without treatment, and the other 6 dogs were treated with various combinations of trimethoprim, sulfadiazine, pyrimethamine and clindamycin. Two of the treated dogs were euthanased because of progression or relapse, 3 showed an improvement in clinical signs, and one showed a resolution of clinical signs. The authors note that neosporosis is an important cause of cerebellar disease in adult dogs.

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  1. Veterinary Surgery
  2. Clinical Comparison of a Novel Extracapsular Stabilization Procedure and Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy for Treatment of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficiency in Dogs
  3. J. L. Cook, J. K.Luther, , J. Beetem, J. Karnes, & C. Cook (2010)
  4. Veterinary Surgery 39:315-323
  1. Show SummaryShow Summary

    A large number of techniques for surgical treatment of canine cranial cruciate ligament disease have been described, with various advantages and disadvantages for the different techniques. Tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) is one of the most popular, but is more invasive than extracapsular techniques. This study compared TPLO to a novel extracapsular stabilisation technique (tight-rope cranial cruciate ligament technique, TR) in 47 medium, large and giant breed dogs with cruciate disease. A prospective clinical cohort study was carried out, and dogs were assigned to one of the two techniques after arthroscopic evaluation and treatment of joint pathology. Post-operative management was standardised. TR was a significantly shorter procedure than TPLO, and had a lower complication rate. Tibial thrust was similar after both procedures, but there was less cranial drawer following TR compared to TPLO. No significant differences were noted between the two techniques on radiographic osteoarthritis scores, or on client questionnaires related to outcome.

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  1. Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
  2. Cardiac troponin I concentrations following medetomidine-butorphanol sedation in dogs.
  3. G. E. Singletary, A. B. Saunders, W. B. Saunders, J. S. Suchodolski, J. M. Steiner, G. T Fosgate & S. M. Hartsfield (2010)
  4. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia 37:342-246
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    Cardiac troponin measurements are an indicator of myocardial ischaemia and damage, and can assist in the diagnosis of cardiomyopathies as well as more acute cardiac insults. This study assessed whether sedation with medetomidine and butorphanol affected cardiac troponin I levels. 20 healthy client owned dogs with no history of cardiac disease underwent sedation with medetomidine and butorphanol for radiography prior to orthopaedic procedures. ECG, non-invasive blood pressure and echocardiography were performed prior to the sedation to screen for cardiac disease, and during the sedation, blood pressure, heart rate and ECG were recorded. Cardiac troponin I levels were measured at baseline and 6, 18 and 24 hours post sedation. Troponin levels were undetectable at all times in all apart from 3 dogs. Two of three dogs that had detectable troponin levels had levels within the reference range, and this was the same before and after sedation. Only one of the dogs had a troponin level above the reference range. The dogs were found to be adequately sedated for radiography, and they showed decreases in heart rate and increases in diastolic blood pressure. The authors concluded that sedation with butorphanol and medetomidine at the doses they used had predictable cardiovascular side effects, but did not significantly increase cardiac troponin I levels at the doses used in this study.

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  1. Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care
  2. Evaluation of acute congestive heart failure in dogs and cats: 145 cases (2007–2008)
  3. C. Goutal, I. Keir, S. Kenney, J. Rush, & L. M. Freeman, (2010)
  4. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care 20:330-337
  1. Show SummaryShow Summary

    This retrospective study aimed to characterise the presentation, management and outcome of dogs and cats presenting with acute cardiac failure. 90 dogs and 55 cats were identified from the records of the emergency department of a university teaching hospital. 48 of the cases were already on cardiac medication at the time of presentation. Cats had a tendency to have a lower body temperature than dogs. Elevated lactate, liver enzymes, urea and glucose and low chlorine were common findings. 80% of cases survived to discharge. Poor prognostic indicators included lower body temperature in cats, and strangely, the lack of development of hypokalaemia during hospitalisation in dogs.

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  1. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and TherapeuticsJournal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  2. Grapefruit juice, lyophilized grapefruit juice, and powdered whole grapefruit inhibit cytochrome P450-mediated triazolam hydroxylation by beagle dog liver microsomes.
  3. Hanley, M. J., Cerundolo, R., Radwanski, N., Court, M. H., (2010)
  4. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 33: 189–195
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    Grapefruit juice has been proposed as a way of increasing the serum levels of certain drugs such as cyclosporine, which are metabolised in the intestine and liver, by inhibiting the breakdown pathways. In humans, it is known that grapefruit juice is a cytochrome p450 inhibitor, but it is not yet known whether the same applies in animals. This study looked at the ability of grapefruit juice, powdered grapefruit and lyophilized grapefruit juice to inhibit p450-mediated triazolam hydroxylation in the canine liver microsomes. Human liver microsomes were used as positive controls. All three versions of grapefruit inhibited alpha-hydroxytriazolam formation in both human and canine samples in vitro. Their findings suggested that 100ml of grapefruit juice had an equivalent effect to 23g of powdered grapefruit or 16g of lyophilized grapefruit juice. The authors recommend that in vivo studies are performed to more accurately characterise the findings. However, coadministration of grapefruit juice may be a safe way of “boosting” serum cyclosporine levels.

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  1. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology
  2. Acanthomatous ameloblastoma in dogs treated with intralesional bleomycin.
  3. ZJ. M. Kelly, B. A. Belding and A. K. Schaefer (2010)
  4. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology 8:81-86
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    Acanthomatous amelobastomas (AA) are benign, locally invasive gingival tumours. This study retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of intralesional bleomycin as a treatment for these tumours in 7 dogs. One of these was considered to be an advanced case for which treatment was expected to be only palliative. The dog treated palliatively had a 25% reduction in tumour size within 14 days of the first injection. The other 6 had complete remission within 4 months of the first injection, with no local recurrence during the course of the study (median follow up time 842 days). Side effects were limited to fairly mild, local reactions. The authors suggest this treatment is effective for canines with AA.

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Issue 6 continued...