Histological tissue healing following high-power laser treatment in a model of suspensory ligament branch injury.

Background: High-power laser therapy gained popularity recently as a regenerative treatment for tendinitis and desmitis in the horse. However, studies evaluating the effects of laser therapy on tissue repair at the histological level in large mammals are lacking.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of high-power laser therapy on suspensory desmitis healing, using a model of suspensory ligament branch injury.

The Evaluation of Equine Allogeneic Tenogenic Primed Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Surgically Induced Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon Lesion Model.

Tendon injuries are very common in horses and jeopardize the athletic performance, and due to the high risk of reinjury may lead to early retirement. The use of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of equine tendon disease is widely investigated because of their regenerative potential. The objective of this study is to investigate the safety and efficacy of equine allogeneic tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells (tpMSCs) for the management of tendinitis in horses.

Power Doppler ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound demonstrate non-invasive tumour vascular response to anti-vascular therapy in canine cancer patients.

Combretastatin A4-phosphate (CA4P) is an anti-vascular agent which selectively shuts down blood supply in tumours, resulting in extensive tumour necrosis. The aim of this study was to assess in vivo, non-invasive ultrasound techniques for the early evaluation of tumour perfusion following CA4P treatment of spontaneous tumours. Eight dogs that bore spontaneous tumours were enrolled and were subsequently treated with a single dose of intravenous CA4P.

Histopathological lesions in reproductive organs, distal spinal cord and peripheral nerves of horses naturally infected with Trypanosoma equiperdum.

Background: Dourine, a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, has different clinical signs related to the reproductive and nervous system. Pathologic tissue changes associated with the disease are poorly described. The present study describes the histopathological lesions in naturally T.

Tissue (re)distribution of Trypanosoma equiperdum in venereal infected and blood transfused horses.

Dourine, caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, is a life-threatening venereal disease in equidae. So far, there is no clear evidence on how and when stallions become infectious, nor which tissues are affected by the parasite in diseased animals. Post-infection, after a transient, temporary phase of parasitaemia, the parasite disperses to different tissues in an unknown distribution pattern.

Reduction of Trypanosoma equiperdum from equine semen by single layer centrifugation.

Trypanosoma equiperdum (T. equiperdum) causes dourine, a venereally transmitted infection in horses. Purification of semen by single layer centrifugation (SLC) has been proven to be successful in reducing venereally transmitted diseases when dealing with other pathogens.

The use of equine chondrogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells as a treatment for osteoarthritis: A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study.

Background: There is a need to improve therapies for osteoarthritis in horses.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of equine allogeneic chondrogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells combined with equine allogeneic plasma as a novel therapy for osteoarthritis in horses.

Study Design: Randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled experiment.

Evaluation of an osteochondral fragment-groove procedure for induction of metacarpophalangeal joint osteoarthritis in horses.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate lameness and morphological changes associated with an osteochondral fragment-groove procedure as a means of experimental induction of metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint osteoarthritis within an 11-week period in horses. ANIMALS 6 nonlame adult warmbloods. PROCEDURES The right MCP joint of each horse underwent an osteochondral fragment-groove procedure (day 0).

Sertoli Cell Tumour and Uterine Leiomyoma in Miniature Schnauzer Dogs with Persistent Müllerian Duct Syndrome Caused by Mutation in the AMHR2 Gene.

Disorders of sex development (DSD) are a serious health problem in dogs. Different types of DSD have been described, including persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS), for which the molecular background has been identified in miniature schnauzers. Human patients with PMDS are at increased risk for cancers of the gonads (predominantly) or the Müllerian duct structures (rarely).

A single dose of intravenous combretastatin A4-phosphate is reasonably well tolerated and significantly reduces tumour vascularization in canine spontaneous cancers.

Combretastatin A4-phosphate (CA4P) is an anti-tumour vascular targeting agent which selectively blocks tumour blood flow. Research on CA4P in rodent tumour models is extensive; however, knowledge of its effect on spontaneous cancer is scarce. This study was conducted in canine patients with spontaneous solid tumours.

Equine allogeneic chondrogenic induced mesenchymal stem cells: A GCP target animal safety and biodistribution study.

The safety of the intra-articular use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is scarcely reported. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the safety of a single intra-articular injection with allogeneic chondrogenic induced MSCs combined with equine plasma (=the investigational product: IVP) compared to a saline (0.9% NaCl) placebo control (=control product: CP).

A virulent clone of Devriesea agamarum affects endangered Lesser Antillean iguanas (Iguana delicatissima).

Infectious diseases affecting wildlife are drivers of global biodiversity loss. Here we report a bacterial threat to endangered wild reptiles. Since April 2011, a severe skin disease has affected free-ranging, endangered Lesser Antillean iguanas (Iguana delicatissima) on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy and we identified Devriesea agamarum as the causative agent.

Influence of study design on digital pathology image quality evaluation: the need to define a clinical task.

Despite the current rapid advance in technologies for whole slide imaging, there is still no scientific consensus on the recommended methodology for image quality assessment of digital pathology slides. For medical images in general, it has been recommended to assess image quality in terms of doctors' success rates in performing a specific clinical task while using the images (clinical image quality, cIQ). However, digital pathology is a new modality, and already identifying the appropriate task is difficult.

Comparison of a 5-mm and 10-mm vessel sealing device in an open ovariectomy model in dogs.

The objectives of this study were to compare (1) the extent of thermal damage and (2) the time between the 5-mm LigaSure V (LS5) and 10-mm LigaSure Atlas (LS10) vessel sealing devices (VSD) when performing open ovariectomy in dogs. A prospective, randomised, clinical trial was performed in 40 client-owned sexually entire female dogs. In each dog, one ovary was randomly assigned to be surgically removed using LS5 and the contralateral using LS10.

Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma of the Oesophagus in a Young Dog.

A 15-month-old great Dane dog, showing clinical signs related to hypertrophic osteopathy, was diagnosed radiographically with a mass in the region of the thoracic oesophagus. Exploratory thoracotomy revealed an extensive, highly vascularized and locally invasive oesophageal mass and the presence of nodules in adjacent lung lobes. The dog was humanely destroyed intra-operatively.

Immunological, anti-angiogenic and clinical effects of intratumoral interleukin 12 electrogene therapy combined with metronomic cyclophosphamide in dogs with spontaneous cancer: A pilot study.

The immunological, anti-angiogenic and clinical effects of metronomic cyclophosphamide and 3 consecutive intratumoral interleukin (IL)-12 gene therapy (electrogene therapy (EGT)) treatments were evaluated in 6 dogs with spontaneous cancer. In all dogs, a decrease in peripheral leukocytes 2 days after IL-12 EGT coincided with erythema and swelling of the tumor. In the tumor, a transient increase in IL-12 levels was measured, whereas a continuous increase in interferon γ (IFNγ) and thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) were determined in contrast to a continuous decrease in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Intratumoural interleukin 12 gene therapy stimulates the immune system and decreases angiogenesis in dogs with spontaneous cancer.

Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is a powerful immunostimulatory cytokine with a strong antitumoural activity. In this work, the immunological, anti-angiogenic and clinical effects of three consecutive intratumoural IL-12 electrogene therapy (EGT) treatments were evaluated in nine dogs with spontaneous cancer. In all the dogs, tumour biopsies and blood samples were taken prior, during and after the intratumoural IL-12 EGT (on days 1, 8, 35 and 1, 3, 8, 15, 35, respectively).

Haemangiosarcoma in a captive Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica).

A 2.7-year-old male captive Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) died unexpectedly without preceding symptoms. Gross necropsy revealed liver and lung tumours, which proved to be haemangiosarcomas by histopathology.

A canine orthologue of the human GFAP c.716G>A (p.Arg239His) variant causes Alexander disease in a Labrador retriever.

Alexander disease (AxD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder of astrocyte dysfunction in man, for which already a number of causal variants are described, mostly de novo dominant missense variants in the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). A similar disorder was already phenotypically described in animals but without the identification of causal variants. We diagnosed a Labrador retriever with a juvenile form of AxD based on clinical (tetraparesis with spastic front limbs mimicking 'swimming puppy syndrome') and pathological (the detection of GFAP containing Rosenthal fibers in astrocytes) features.

Angiogenesis in canine mammary tumours: a morphometric and prognostic study.

Angiogenesis in canine mammary tumours (CMTs) has been described previously; however, only the intratumoural (IT) region has been studied and information on peritumoural (PT) angiogenesis is lacking. In this study, the blood vessel density (BVD), blood vessel perimeter (BVP) and blood vessel area (BVA) in IT and PT regions of 56 benign CMTs, 55 malignant CMTs and 13 samples of normal mammary gland tissue were analyzed. In addition, the blood endothelial cell proliferation (BECP) as an indicator of ongoing angiogenesis was investigated.

Lymphangiogenesis in canine mammary tumours: a morphometric and prognostic study.

Canine mammary tumours (CMTs) are the most common tumours of entire female dogs and represent a promising model for human breast cancer. Little is known about the presence and prognostic value of lymphangiogenesis in CMTs. The aims of the present study were to analyze selected characteristics of lymphatic vessels in CMTs, to evaluate their prognostic significance and to compare these results with studies of human breast cancer.

Evaluation of immunohistochemical markers of lymphatic and blood vessels in canine mammary tumours.

Canine mammary tumours (CMTs) are the most common neoplasms in intact female dogs. Bitches with spontaneously arising CMTs represent a promising animal model for human breast cancer research. The aim of the present study was to develop an immunohistochemical protocol for the identification of blood and lymphatic vessels in CMTs.

Canine mammary tumours, an overview.

Canine mammary tumours (CMTs) are the most common neoplasms in intact female dogs. Although the prevalence of these tumours decreases in regions where preventive ovari(ohyster)ectomy is performed, it remains an important disease entity in veterinary medicine. Moreover, treatment options are limited in comparison with human breast cancer.