Evaluation of the effect of cannabidiol administration with and without nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in dogs with mobility disorders: a prospective, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study.

Introduction: With rapidly growing interest in the use of cannabidiol (CBD) in the management of pain and other conditions, more information is needed on the safety and efficacy of this supplement, particularly its co-administration with commonly used pharmaceuticals such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This study sought to assess the effect of CBD in dogs with mobility impairments, as well as evaluate the clinical tolerance of CBD used together with NSAIDs.

Materials And Methods: Forty-two client-owned dogs with diagnosed mobility impairments were enrolled in this prospective, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study.

Scoping review of the use of mesenchymal stem and stromal cell products in cats, Part 2: current scope and efficacy.

A scoping review of published literature found 108 articles related to mesenchymal stem or stromal cell (MSC) use in cats. Twenty-four of the publications summarized the treatment of 192 cats with MSC products for 12 naturally occurring and induced diseases. These trials used a variety of cell sources, administration routes, delivery vehicles, and dosages.

Scoping review of the use of mesenchymal stem and stromal cell products in cats, Part 1: current logistics and safety.

Despite a pressing need for new therapies to address unmet veterinary medical need, no approved stem cell products are available for use in cats in the US. To evaluate the current state of mesenchymal stem or stromal cell (MSC) research in cats, a scoping review of published literature was performed, which identified 108 publications related to feline MSCs. Twenty-six of the articles described administration of MSC products to a total of 215 cats.

Canine diabetes mellitus demonstrates multiple markers of chronic inflammation including Th40 cell increases and elevated systemic-immune inflammation index, consistent with autoimmune dysregulation.

Introduction: Canine diabetes mellitus (CDM) is a relatively common endocrine disease in dogs. Many CDM clinical features resemble human type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), but lack of autoimmune biomarkers makes calling the disease autoimmune controversial. Autoimmune biomarkers linking CDM and T1DM would create an alternative model for drug development impacting both human and canine disease.

Synovial extramedullary hematopoiesis in a dog.

Objective: Synovial extramedullary hematopoiesis is a rarely reported condition in humans and, to date, has never been reported in canines. This case report describes the clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, treatment, and outcome of a canine case confirmed to have hematopoietic tissue within multiple joints.

Animal: A client-owned canine.

Comparing adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells with prednisolone for the treatment of feline inflammatory bowel disease.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of feline mesenchymal stem cells (fMSC) with prednisolone as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in cats.

Methods: Cats with chronic enteropathy that failed a 2-week diet trial and were not found to have significant concurrent disease were eligible for the study. If endoscopic biopsies confirmed a histopathologic diagnosis of IBD, the cat was randomly assigned to either the fMSC or prednisolone groups.

Long-Term Recovery of the Fecal Microbiome and Metabolome of Dogs with Steroid-Responsive Enteropathy.

The long-term impact of treatment of dogs with steroid-responsive enteropathy (SRE) on the fecal microbiome and metabolome has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the fecal microbiome and metabolome of dogs with SRE before, during, and following treatment with standard immunosuppressive therapy and an elimination diet. We retrospectively selected samples from 9 dogs with SRE enrolled in a previous clinical trial, which received treatment for 8 weeks, and had achieved remission as indicated by the post-treatment clinical scores.

Impact of specimen type on findings for bacterial composition within the intestinal tract of dogs and cats with and without chronic enteropathy.

Objective: To compare bacterial diversity and community composition among fecal, rectal swab, and colonic mucosal biopsy specimens from dogs and cats with and without chronic enteropathy (CE).

Animals: 9 healthy dogs, 8 dogs with CE, 8 healthy cats, and 9 cats with CE.

Procedures: In a cross-sectional study design, fecal, rectal swab, and colonic mucosal biopsy specimens were obtained by colonoscopy from healthy dogs and dogs and cats with CE.

Evidence-Based Medicine: Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Cholecystocentesis in the Cat.

Cholangitis is a common cause of hepatobiliary disease in the cat. Feline cholangitis is characterized as neutrophilic (acute or chronic), lymphocytic, or caused by liver flukes. The neutrophilic form is caused by bacterial infection of the biliary system, and identification of the specific bacterial agent guides treatment.

Long-term impact of tylosin on fecal microbiota and fecal bile acids of healthy dogs.

Background: Tylosin is commonly prescribed to dogs with diarrhea. Orally administered antibiotics may alter the intestinal microbiota, which is responsible for crucial key bile acid (BA) biotransformation reactions.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate the impact of tylosin administration on fecal microbiota and unconjugated bile acids (UBAs) over time.

Mucosal Immune Response to Feline Enteric Coronavirus Infection.

Feline infectious peritonitis is a devastating, fatal disease of domestic cats caused by a pathogenic mutant virus derived from the ubiquitous feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Infection by FECV is generally subclinical, and little is known about the mucosal immune response that controls and eliminates the virus. We investigated the mucosal immune response against FECV in an endemically infected breeding colony over a seven-month period.

Comparison of clinical, clinicopathologic, and histologic variables in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy and low or normal serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol concentrations.

Background: The cause of low serum vitamin D concentrations in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) is not well understood.

Objective: Improve understanding of pathogenesis of low serum vitamin D concentrations in dogs with CIE by comparing several clinical, clinicopathologic, and histologic variables between CIE dogs with low and normal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (25[OH]D).

Animals: Fifteen dogs with CIE and low serum 25[OH]D concentrations; 15 dogs with CIE and normal serum 25(OH)D concentrations.

Humoral immune responses against gut bacteria in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs is associated with clinical signs of intestinal dysfunction, as well as abnormal lymphocytic and myeloid cell infiltrates in the small and/or large intestine. Thus, in many respects IBD in dogs resembles IBD in humans. However, the factors that trigger intestinal inflammation in dogs with IBD are not well understood and have been variously attributed to immune responses against dietary antigens or intestinal antigens.

Lymphatic endothelial cell immunohistochemical markers for evaluation of the intestinal lymphatic vasculature in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy.

Background: Lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) immunohistochemical markers have identified intestinal lymphatic vasculature abnormalities in humans with inflammatory bowel disease, but have not been used to evaluate intestinal lymphatic vasculature in a group of dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE).

Objectives: To utilize LEC markers to identify and measure intestinal lymphatic vasculature in endoscopic biopsy samples of CIE dogs. To evaluate whether measured lymphatic vasculature variables correlate with serum albumin concentrations.

Longitudinal assessment of microbial dysbiosis, fecal unconjugated bile acid concentrations, and disease activity in dogs with steroid-responsive chronic inflammatory enteropathy.

Background: Mounting evidence from human studies suggests that bile acid dysmetabolism might play a role in various human chronic gastrointestinal diseases. It is unknown whether fecal bile acid dysmetabolism occurs in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CE).

Objective: To assess microbial dysbiosis, fecal unconjugated bile acids (fUBA), and disease activity in dogs with steroid-responsive CE.

Evaluation of potential serum biomarkers of hepatic fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in dogs with liver disease.

Background: Serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), C-reactive protein (CRP), and the ratio of aspartate transaminase to alanine transaminase (AST:ALT) have been correlated with fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in humans with various hepatopathies.

Hypothesis/objectives: To determine whether increases in serum IL-6, CCL2, CRP, or AST:ALT were associated with moderate to severe fibrosis or necroinflammatory activity in dogs with various hepatopathies.

Animals: Forty-four client-owned dogs with clinical evidence of liver disease and 10 healthy purpose-bred dogs, all undergoing liver biopsies by laparoscopy or laparotomy.

Hepatic lipidosis: Clinical review drawn from collective effort.

Unlabelled: Practical relevance: Hepatic lipidosis (HL) is the most common form of liver dysfunction in cats. If recognized early and treated appropriately, the prognosis is good; if not, the prognosis is grave. Clinical challenges: Distinguishing HL as idiopathic or secondary is critical since the presence of a concurrent disease affects the therapeutic plan and the prognosis.

Randomized, controlled trial evaluating the effect of multi-strain probiotic on the mucosal microbiota in canine idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease.

The intestinal microbiota is increasingly linked to the pathogenesis of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs. While studies have reported alterations in fecal (luminal) microbial populations, only limited information is available about the mucosal microbiota of IBD dogs at diagnosis and following medical therapy. Our aim was to characterize the mucosal microbiota and determine the clinical, microbiological, and mucosal homeostatic effects of probiotic treatment in dogs with IBD.

Bilious Vomiting Syndrome in Dogs: Retrospective Study of 20 Cases (2002-2012).

Bilious vomiting syndrome (BVS) is a condition historically associated with early morning vomiting of bile, but it is otherwise poorly characterized. The vomiting is thought to result from a reflux of duodenal fluid into the gastric lumen causing mucosal irritation. Medical records from Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (CSUVTH) were searched for "canine" and "bilious vomiting syndrome" between 2002 and 2012.

Vitamin E supplementation fails to impact measures of oxidative stress or the anaemia of feline chronic kidney disease: a randomised, double-blinded placebo control study.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that supplementation with vitamin E, an antioxidant, in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD), would reduce oxidative stress and its impact on RBC membrane fragility, resulting in these cats maintaining a greater packed cell volume (PCV) compared with CKD cats not receiving supplementation. Thirty-six cats with CKD were randomly assigned to receive either daily vitamin E or a placebo for 3 months in a double-blinded study design. History and physical examination, blood pressure, complete blood count (CBC), PCV, biochemical profile and urinalysis (UA) were determined.

Melanoma patient derived xenografts acquire distinct Vemurafenib resistance mechanisms.

Variable clinical responses, tumor heterogeneity, and drug resistance reduce long-term survival outcomes for metastatic melanoma patients. To guide and accelerate drug development, we characterized tumor responses for five melanoma patient derived xenograft models treated with Vemurafenib. Three BRAF(V600E) models showed acquired drug resistance, one BRAF(V600E) model had a complete and durable response, and a BRAF(V600V) model was expectedly unresponsive.

Stem cell therapy in cats with chronic enteropathy: a proof-of-concept study.

Objectives: The current treatment of cats with chronic enteropathy frequently includes use of a prescription diet and daily medication administration, with the potential for side effects or problems with owner compliance, and may still result in treatment failure in some cases. The objective of this study was to determine if stem cell therapy was a safe and viable treatment in cases of feline chronic enteropathy.

Methods: Allogeneic adipose-derived feline mesenchymal stem cells (fMSC) were used to treat seven cats with diarrhea of no less than 3 months' duration, while four cats with a similar clinical condition received placebo, in a blinded manner.