Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The rapid proliferation of companion animal vaccines, advances in diagnostic and vaccine technology, and concerns over vaccine safety are clearly among the most important issues practicing veterinarians face as we enter the 21st century. Although many would argue that these are already issues, the future promises to be especially challenging as the vaccines we currently use and the protocols we recommend undergo unprecedented review.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

New technologies for vaccine development and infectious disease diagnosis are likely to be introduced in the near future. With this new technology comes the opportunity to vaccinate companion animals against even more infectious agents than is currently practiced in the United States. As we look forward, it becomes particularly important to review current vaccination standards applied to dogs with respect to current knowledge of duration of immunity, awareness of incidence, and likelihood of injurious or even fatal adverse events associated with vaccination, and individual risk factors that dictate which vaccines are most appropriate at which stage of life.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The role of dietary fat and fiber in energy restriction for the management of obesity was examined. Twelve male castrated dogs were energy restricted for 7 weeks by feeding 60% of their calculated maintenance energy requirements (MER = 1500 kcal/m2/d) for ideal body weight. Six dogs were restricted on a high-fat (35.4 kcal% from fat), low-fiber (2.9% dry matter basis [DMB]) diet while the other six dogs were restricted on a low-fat (24.5 kcal% from fat), high-fiber (27% DMB) diet. Compared with the high-fat, low-fiber diet, energy restriction on the low-fat, high-fiber diet resulted in significantly greater decreases in body fat (1472 +/- 166 vs. 853 +/- 176 g; p < 0.05) and total serum cholesterol concentrations (108.7 +/- 11.3 vs. 51.5 +/- 13.9 mg/dL; p < 0.005). Reductions in body weight (2.86 +/- 0.3 vs. 2.14 +/- 0.3 kg; p < 0.09), and mean arterial blood pressure (17.4 +/- 6.1 vs. 6.7 +/- 2.9 mmHg; p < 0.12) were also greater on the low-fat diet; however, these diet effects did not reach statistical significance. These data suggest that the fat and fiber content of the diet during energy restriction are important factors in the management of obesity.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

After a 12-hour fast, blood samples were obtained from 31 dogs with previously untreated lymphoma. Blood samples were also collected from 16 of these dogs after up to 5 treatments with doxorubicin (30 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks). All 16 dogs underwent complete remission. Five dogs were re-evaluated after relapse and after overt signs of cancer cachexia had become clinically apparent. Samples were assayed for 8 quantitative parameters: total cholesterol (T-CH) and total triglyceride (T-TG) concentrations, and the concentration of cholesterol and triglyceride in each of the three major lipoprotein fractions, very-low-density lipoprotein (LDL-CH and LDL-TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-CH and HDL-TG). The results were compared with those from 20 healthy control dogs of similar weight and age before and 3 weeks after being given one dose of doxorubicin (30 mg/m2 intravenously). The administration of doxorubicin to control dogs resulted in a significant (P < .05) decrease in T-CH, LDL-CH, and HDL-CH, as well as a significant increase in VLDL-TG and HDL-TG. When compared with untreated controls, untreated dogs with lymphoma had significantly higher concentrations of VLDL-CH, T-TG, VLDL-TG, LDL-TG, and HDL-TG, and significantly lower concentrations of HDL-CH. HDL-TG and VLDL-TG concentrations from dogs with lymphoma were significantly increased above pretreatment values after relapse and development of overt signs of cancer cachexia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

There is no question that disease prevention, rather than treatment, represents the single most significant advancement in the management of infectious diseases in companion animals. In particular, the introduction of sensitive, rapid in-clinic diagnostic test kits, new vaccines, and implementation of strict vaccination protocols has dramatically decreased the morbidity and mortality associated with viral infections in cats. However, neither the agents nor the disease they cause will be eradicated through the use of even the most comprehensive testing and vaccination programs alone. In 1908, W. T. Sedgwick wrote in his leading public health textbook that "the absence of dirt is not merely an esthetic adornment." Comments such as this, published by noted public health authorities at the turn of the century, marked the beginning of the health revolution in the United States. As the nineteenth century ended, mortality rates from infectious diseases among infants and young adults dramatically and abruptly plunged. The fact that personal hygiene was the hero of this revolution illustrates the importance of the fundamental rules of cleanliness in disease prevention that still apply today. Although basic to infection control, ignoring even the simplest concepts of cleanliness and hygiene in the environment of the multiple cat household can lead to diastrous consequences.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Ponies were evaluated for their response to feed withholding and exogenous administration of corticosteroids (dexamethasone 0.04 mg/kg intramuscular [IM]) in an attempt to reproduce the hyperlipemia syndrome. Because insulin resistance has been associated with hyperlipemia, all ponies were initially evaluated for insulin response to an oral glucose load and normal dexamethasone suppression of serum cortisol. Four ponies were identified as hyperinsulinemic reflecting insulin resistance. All ponies had suppressed cortisol concentrations following dexamethasone administration. Feed withdrawal resulted in hypertriglyceridemia by 48 hours in all ponies. Very low density lipoprotein-triglyceride (VLDL) fraction was primarily elevated. The administration of dexamethasone failed to increase the degree of triglyceridemia. Although insulin resistance has been proposed as the likely cause of the hypertriglyceridemia in ponies, in this study four of eight ponies were considered to have normal insulin responses and yet still developed hypertriglyceridemia.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Chronic bronchial disease constitutes a significant, yet underdiagnosed, cause of both chronic cough and episodic and acute-onset respiratory distress in mature dogs and cats. Untreated chronic bronchial disease is a debilitating, progressive respiratory syndrome that results in decreased exercise tolerance, inactivity, paroxysmal respiratory distress, airway collapse and even death. With proper medical treatment, however, the prognosis for the effective long term management of chronic bronchial disease, even in severe cases, can be good.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

An abdominal eumycotic mycetoma with multiorgan dissemination was diagnosed in a 2-year-old dog. Clinical signs included fever, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and a palpable abdominal mass. The dog developed disseminated intravascular coagulation and died. Pseudallescheria boydii was isolated from the abdominal mass, liver, and peritoneal fluid. Relevant history included an ovariohysterectomy when the dog was 6 months old, which was complicated by dehiscence of the incision site and evisceration. It appears that P boydii has a propensity for establishing itself in the abdominal cavity of the dog, subsequent to surgical dehiscence.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Effects of acute pancreatitis on circulating lipids in dogs were evaluated by comparing the serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations and plasma lipoprotein electrophoretic patterns of 4 dogs with experimentally induced pancreatitis (EIP), 2 (healthy) sham-operated control (SOC) dogs, and 4 dogs with naturally acquired pancreatitis (NAP) with the concentrations and patterns of 23 healthy, nonoperated control (HNC) dogs. Blood samples were collected once from HNC dogs, 1 to 3 times during the course of the disease in dogs with NAP, and prior to and at 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours after induction of pancreatitis in dogs with EIP or after the sham operation in the SOC dogs. The dogs with EIP did not have turbid serum and did not develop hypercholesterolemia or hypertriglyceridemia. Three of the dogs with NAP had turbid serum and hypertriglyceridemia, and 3 had hypercholesterolemia. The electrophoretic tracings of HNC dogs had predominant alpha-1 peaks and small beta peaks; 2 of the HNC dogs also had small alpha-2 peaks. The tracings of dogs with EIP were similar to those of HNC dogs until 48 to 72 hours after induction of pancreatitis, when dogs with EIP developed increased beta lipoproteins, decreased alpha-1 lipoproteins, and movement of lipoproteins into the alpha-2 zone. The tracings of SOC dogs were similar to those of HNC dogs at all times. Compared with HNC dogs, dogs with NAP all had increased beta lipoproteins, and 2 had decreased alpha-2 lipoproteins. Two dogs with NAP had additional lipoprotein alterations, unlike any seen in dogs with EIP.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

A seroepidemiologic survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of antibodies reactive with 4 spotted fever-group (SFG) rickettsiae in sera of dogs from various geographic regions in North Carolina. Serum specimens were obtained from 600 dogs, and antibody titers were determined, using microimmunofluorescence. Data analysis (setting as the criterion for a positive result, a Rickettsia rickettsii titer greater than or equal to 1:64) overestimated the actual prevalence of canine exposure to this rickettsia. When data were analyzed by considering each dog's serologic response to all 4 rickettsial antigens simultaneously, the prevalence rate for exposure to R montana was 15%, to R rhipicephali was 11%, and to R rickettsii was 5%. A definitive exposure to R bellii was not observed, and the identification of the specific inciting rickettsia could not be established for 13% of the dogs, because of identical highest titers to 2 or more antigens. Our data indicate that canine exposure to R rhipicephali is prevalent in the eastern coastal region, whereas exposure to R montana takes place uniformly throughout the state. Rickettsia rickettsii exposure appears to be more prevalent in the central Piedmont region, but rarely is encountered in the western mountains. Regional seroprevalence for canine R rickettsii exposure approximates that for human exposure. Our findings support earlier suggestions that dogs may serve as environmental sentinels for establishing the geographic prevalence of foci of spotted fever.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The clinician confronted with a patient that has an infectious disease, particularly one caused by a virus, faces a series of difficult problems: diagnostic confirmation of the infection, instituting appropriate therapy, duration of treatment, preventing secondary complications, and preventing transmission of the virus to susceptible animals. Yet, it is the complex relationship between the patient, as host to a pathogenic virus, the virus, and the environment that ultimately influences the clinical course of an infection. The ability to accurately prognose the outcome of any infection is, therefore, predicated on the clinician's awareness of biological and environmental variables that apply to the individual patient.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The rapid evolution of immunopharmacology as a recognized scientific discipline dedicated to unraveling complex interrelationships between immunologic responsiveness and disease states in general supports the importance of the potential role biological response modifiers have in clinical medicine. To administer a drug, or combination of drugs, that safely, effectively, and favorably alter the course of infection, cancer, autoimmune disease, and allergy is within grasp. Although the greatest emphasis on therapeutic application of BRMs is placed on cancer, many of these immunomodulating agents have well-documented effects on the course of infectious disease. By either restoring immune responses or by enhancing the response of a normal immune system, it is conceivable that BRM therapy will someday be used routinely as adjunct therapy in the management of viral infections in companion animals.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The British antilewisite butyrate-dithionitrobenzoate (BALB-DTNB) spectrophotometric serum lipase assay was evaluated for precision, accuracy, and diagnostic usefulness in analyzing canine sera. Sera samples from clinically healthy dogs, dogs with experimentally induced pancreatitis, and dogs with spontaneous pancreatitis were analyzed. A titrimetric method of serum lipase determination was used for comparison. Although the BALB-DTNB method was not found to be precise or accurate for determining the lipase activity of canine serum samples, it seemed to be at least as diagnostically useful as the titrimetric procedure. The small sample size requirement and the speed of analysis of the BALB-DTNB procedure are advantages of this method over the titrimetric method, and thus, its use in place of the titrimetric method is justified. A laboratory reference range of 3 to 37 IU/L was determined for canine serum.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

A controlled clinical trial of the anti-epileptic efficacy and toxic side effects of diphenylsilanediol was conducted on 24 client-owned epileptic dogs. Data obtained from an abbreviated procedural treatment program indicated that diphenylsilanediol compared favorably with primidone as an anti-epileptic compound, but had limiting toxic side effects to the liver, pancreas, and possibly to other tissues. There was a mean reduction of 60.7% in seizure frequency in 15 epileptic dogs treated with diphenylsilanediol when compared with their pretreatment frequency. There was a mean reduction of 55.6% in seizure frequency in 9 spileptic control dogs treated with primidone. Samples of blood obtained from the dogs in the program on the 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th, and 36th weeks of treatment were examined for complete blood cell count, blood urea nitrogen, liver function, and pancreatic function. Toxic side effects were not seen among the primidone-treated control dogs, with the exception of occasional dose-related drowsiness. Among the diphenylsilanediol-treated dogs, 3 developed liver disease, 2 developed definite pancreatic changes, and 2 showed evidence of bone marrow suppression. Four dogs died during treatment with diphenylsilanediol, whereas no deaths occurred during the same interval of primidone therapy.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Congenital supravalvular pulmonic stenosis was diagnosed in a dog. A pulmonary artery-to-pulmonary artery anastomosis of a Dacron arterial conduit restored continuity of blood flow around the obstruction in the main pulmonary artery. By the 6th day after surgery, right ventricular systolic pressure averaged 85 mm of Hg, a decrease of 90 mm from the preoperative value. Angiocardiography confirmed the patency of the conduit. At examination 6 months after surgery, the dog was clinically normal.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)