Ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression to reduce post-fixation twins in the mare.

Background: Management of twin pregnancy after conceptus vesicle fixation in the horse is challenging because the reduction techniques described are either invasive, difficult to perform or associated with disappointing success rates.

Objectives: To evaluate the success of transrectal ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression for reducing post-fixation twin pregnancy in mares.

Study Design: Retrospective clinical study.

Continued versus Interrupted Targeted Therapy during Metastasis-Directed Stereotactic Radiotherapy: A Retrospective Multi-Center Safety and Efficacy Analysis.

The increasing use of targeted therapy (TT) has resulted in prolonged disease control and survival in many metastatic cancers. In parallel, stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is increasingly performed in patients receiving TT to obtain a durable control of resistant metastases, and thereby to prolong the time to disseminated disease progression and switch of systemic therapy. The aims of this study were to analyze the safety and efficacy of SRT combined with TT in metastatic cancer patients and to assess the influence of continuous vs.

Evaluation of daily online contour adaptation by radiation therapists for prostate cancer treatment on an MRI-guided linear accelerator.

Background And Purpose: Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided linear accelerator (MR-Linac) systems have changed radiotherapy workflows. The addition of daily online contour adaptation allows for higher precision treatment, but also increases the workload of those involved. We train radiation therapists (RTTs) to perform daily online contour adaptation for MR-Linac treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

A retrospective study on semen quality parameters from four different Dutch horse breeds with different levels of inbreeding.

A high degree of inbreeding has been reported to negatively impact semen quality in Friesian horses and Shetland ponies. Both breeds are characterized by a closed studbook, small population size, and high incidence of inbreeding. The Dutch Warmblood studbook (KWPN: Koninklijk Warmblood Paardenstamboek Nederland) is a much larger studbook with two distinct populations: the KWPN-Riding horses, managed as an 'open' studbook, and the KWPN-Harness horses, representing a much smaller subpopulation within the KWPN breed and managed as an 'almost closed' studbook.

Predicting survival in melanoma patients treated with concurrent targeted- or immunotherapy and stereotactic radiotherapy : Melanoma brain metastases prognostic score.

Background: Melanoma patients frequently develop brain metastases. The most widely used score to predict survival is the molGPA based on a mixed treatment of stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). In addition, systemic therapy was not considered.

A practical guide to estimate the age of the early CL by ultrasonography in mares examined for the first time to be used as recipients in a commercial embryo transfer program.

The echogenicity of the early CL undergoes obvious changes during the first 5 days of luteal development. This phenomenon could potentially be used to estimate the age of the CL in mares which have not been checked frequently for the diagnosis of ovulation. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the accuracy of estimating the age of the early CL (Day 0 to Day 4; Day 0 = Day of ovulation) in recipient mares examined for the first time in the breeding season to be used in a commercial embryo transfer (ET) program.

Mare and stallion effects on blastocyst production in a commercial equine ovum pick-up-intracytoplasmic sperm injection program.

This study retrospectively examined the degree to which success within a commercial ovum pick-up (OPU)-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) program varied between individual mares and stallions. Over 2 years, 552 OPU sessions were performed on 323 privately owned warmblood mares. For mares that yielded at least one blastocyst during the first OPU-ICSI cycle, there was a 77% likelihood of success during subsequent attempts; conversely, when the first cycle yielded no blastocyst, the likelihood of failure (no embryo) in subsequent cycles was 62%.

In vitro-produced horse embryos exhibit a very narrow window of acceptable recipient mare uterine synchrony compared with in vivo-derived embryos.

In recent years, the number of equine invitro-produced embryos (IVP) has increased markedly; as yet, there are few reports on what constitutes an 'ideal' recipient for an IVP embryo. This study retrospectively investigated the effects of recipient mare oestrous cycle characteristics on the likelihood of pregnancy after transfer of IVP (n=264) and invivo-derived embryos (n=262). IVP embryos tolerated only a narrow window of recipient mare 'synchrony', with transfer on Day 4 after ovulation resulting in a higher likelihood of ongoing pregnancy (69%) than transfer on Days 3, 5 or 6 (53.

Comparing survival predicted by the diagnosis-specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA) to actual survival in patients with 1-10 brain metastases treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.

Background And Purpose: Multiple prognostic models for predicting survival after treatment for brain metastases have been developed. One of them, the diagnosis-specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA), has been developed to predict the median survival for brain metastases from the most frequent primary sites: lung carcinoma, breast cancer, melanoma, renal cell cancer and gastrointestinal tumours. In this study we aim to compare the survival predicted by the DS-GPA to actual survival, and to assess this models performance on both population and individual levels.

The recipient's Day after ovulation and the number of corpora lutea influence the likelihood of pregnancy in mares following transfer of ICSI frozen embryos.

Asynchronous embryo transfer is an excellent tool to investigate how subtle differences in the uterine environment affect embryo development and survival. Progesterone secreted from the corpus luteum following ovulation is one of the main factors responsible for establishing endometrial receptivity for the pre-implantation embryo via complex alterations in the expression of genes involved in the secretion of the histotroph. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether the recipient's Day after ovulation and the number of CL at ET influence the pregnancy rates of IVP horse embryos.

Prognostic Value of Brain Metastasis-Free Interval in Patients with Breast Cancer Brain Metastases.

Background: In patients with breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM), time between primary tumor diagnosis and appearance of brain metastases varies widely. Despite being a readily available clinical parameter, it remains unclear whether brain metastasis-free interval (BMFI) carries prognostic value among breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to compare characteristics and overall survival among patients with varying BMFIs and to assess the prognostic role, if any, for BMFI.

The Effect of Different Flushing Media Used to Aspirate Follicles on the Outcome of a Commercial Ovum Pickup-ICSI Program in Mares.

The in vitro production of embryos by ovum pickup (OPU) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is gaining popularity among horse breeders and veterinarians. Various collection media are available for flushing follicles during OPU. The objective of this study was to determine whether the type of flushing media used to aspirate follicles and collect oocytes influences the outcome of a commercial equine OPU-ICSI program.

A retrospective comparison of the efficiency of different assisted reproductive techniques in the horse, emphasizing the impact of maternal age.

Advancing maternal age is known to negatively affect fertility in the horse. This age-related decrease in fertility has been linked primarily to reduced oocyte quality rather than to impaired uterine function. In the past decade, the use of ovum pick-up (OPU) and ICSI to produce foals has rapidly gaining popularity amongst sport horse breeders.

Small day 8 equine embryos cannot be rescued by a less advanced recipient mare uterus.

Equine embryos tolerate an unusually large degree of negative uterine asynchrony (recipient mare up to 5 days behind the donor mare). By contrast, positive asynchrony of more than 2 days results in a high incidence of early embryonic loss (EEL). Day 8 embryos range in diameter from approximately 130-1300 μm, with embryos smaller than 300 μm reported to suffer an increased incidence of EEL.

Effect of embryo transfer technique on the likelihood of pregnancy in the mare: a comparison of conventional and Wilsher's forceps-assisted transfer.

The aim of this study was to compare the success of embryo transfer (ET) performed by veterinarians with different degrees of experience using one of two ET techniques. Over three years, 179 embryos were transferred by three operators with moderate to high experience using a 'conventional' manual technique, and 170 embryos were transferred by four operators with little or no previous ET experience using a 'Wilsher' technique (Polansky speculum and Wilsher's cervical forceps). The pregnancy status of recipient mares at the first pregnancy diagnosis and the embryo loss by the last examination were compared between groups and within group among operators.

Horse embryo diameter is influenced by the embryonic age but not by the type of semen used to inseminate donor mares.

The diameter of embryos recovered from mares on Day 8 after ovulation varies greatly, from as little as 130 μm to as much as 2500 μm. Several factors have been proposed to affect embryo size at recovery, one of which is the type of semen (frozen vs fresh or cooled-transported) used to inseminate the mare. In addition, it has been shown that smaller embryos (<300 μm) recovered on Day 8 are less likely than larger embryos to result in successful pregnancy after transfer.

Serum anti-Müllerian hormone dynamics in mares following immunocontraception with anti-zona pellucida or -GnRH vaccines.

Circulating anti-Müllerian hormone concentration (AMH) is positively correlated to the number of small growing follicles in the mare and may reflect ovarian function. Dynamics of AMH during immunocontraception have not previously been investigated. This study aimed to compare serum AMH in mares following treatment with native porcine zona pellucida (pZP), recombinant pZP3 and pZP4 (reZP) or gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccines, and saline-treated controls.

Likelihood of pregnancy after embryo transfer is reduced in recipient mares with a short preceding oestrus.

Background: Previous surveys reported a positive association between the length of the follicular phase and subsequent fertility in embryo transfer donor and Thoroughbred mares. However, it is unclear whether a longer oestrus positively influences fertilisation and oviductal development (oocyte quality, oviductal environment), or uterine receptivity and survival of the embryo in the uterus.

Objectives: To determine the effect of length of oestrus (characterised by duration of endometrial oedema) on likelihood of pregnancy and early embryo loss (EEL) in recipient mares after embryo transfer (ET).

Biological Functions and Clinical Applications of Anti-Müllerian Hormone in Stallions and Mares.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) plays a major role in sexual differentiation, Leydig cell differentiation, and folliculogenesis. In addition, AMH has clinical value in equine practice. In stallions, AMH can serve as an endocrine marker for equine cryptorchidism and as an immunohistochemical marker for Sertoli cell tumors.

Reversible downregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in stallions with a novel GnRH antagonist.

The GnRH antagonist, acyline, has not yet been investigated in the stallion. Our study aimed to: (1) evaluate the downregulation of the stallion hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis by acyline through assessment of seminal parameters, testicular volume, and sexual behavior; (2) assess hormonal response of acyline-treated stallions to GnRH stimulation; and (3) verify reversibility after treatment. Stallions were assessed pretreatment and subsequently treated (every five days) for 50 days: acyline (n = 4; 330 μg/kg acyline) or control (n = 4, vehicle).

Induction of ovulation in seasonally anestrous mares under ambient lights using recombinant equine FSH (reFSH).

Traditionally, mares are put under artificial lights to advance the first ovulation of the year. The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of recombinant equine FSH (reFSH) in stimulating follicular development and advancing the first ovulation of the year in seasonally anestrous mares compared with anestrous mares given a placebo. Both groups of mares were housed under ambient light conditions.

Effects of targeting the VEGF and PDGF pathways in diffuse orthotopic glioma models.

Currently available compounds that interfere with VEGF-A signalling effectively inhibit angiogenesis in gliomas, but influence diffuse infiltrative growth to a much lesser extent. Development of a functional tumour vascular bed not only involves VEGF-A but also requires platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β (PDGFRβ), which induces maturation of tumour blood vessels. Therefore, we tested whether combined inhibition of VEGFR and PDGFRβ increases therapeutic benefit in the orthotopic glioma xenograft models E98 and E473, both displaying the diffuse infiltrative growth that is characteristically observed in most human gliomas.

In silico analysis of kinase expression identifies WEE1 as a gatekeeper against mitotic catastrophe in glioblastoma.

Kinases execute pivotal cellular functions and are therefore widely investigated as potential targets in anticancer treatment. Here we analyze the kinase gene expression profiles of various tumor types and reveal the wee1 kinase to be overexpressed in glioblastomas. We demonstrate that WEE1 is a major regulator of the G(2) checkpoint in glioblastoma cells.