BOAS in the Boston Terrier: A healthier screw-tailed breed?

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is well documented in the three most popular brachycephalic dog breeds of the UK and several other countries: French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs. More extreme conformation has been found to be associated with increased risk of BOAS and other brachycephalic disease in these breeds, such as ocular, neurological, and dental disease. Less is known about how BOAS and other brachycephalic conformation-related disease affects other breeds such as the Boston Terrier.

Comparison of cone-beam and fan-beam computed tomography and low-field magnetic resonance imaging for detection of palmar/plantar osteochondral disease in Thoroughbred horses.

Background: Palmar/plantar osteochondral disease (POD) of the metacarpal/tarsal condyles is a common pathological finding in racehorses.

Objective: To compare diagnoses, imaging details, and measurements of POD lesions between cone-beam computed tomography CT (CBCT), fan-beam CT (FBCT), and low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using macroscopic pathology as a gold standard.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Three-Dimensional Imaging and Histopathological Features of Third Metacarpal/Tarsal Parasagittal Groove and Proximal Phalanx Sagittal Groove Fissures in Thoroughbred Horses.

Fissure in the third metacarpal/tarsal parasagittal groove and proximal phalanx sagittal groove is a potential prodromal pathology of fracture; therefore, early identification and characterisation of fissures using non-invasive imaging could be of clinical value. Thirty-three equine cadaver limbs underwent standing cone-beam (CB) computed tomography (CT), fan-beam (FB) CT, low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and macro/histo-pathological examination. Imaging diagnoses of fissures were compared to microscopic examination.

Comparison of cone-beam and fan-beam computed tomography and low-field magnetic resonance imaging for detection of proximal phalanx dorsoproximal osteochondral defects.

Background: Dorsoproximal osteochondral defects commonly affect the proximal phalanx, but information about diagnosis on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is limited.

Objectives: To assess CT and MRI diagnoses of osteochondral defects, describe the lesions and compare sensitivity and specificity of the modalities using macroscopic pathology as gold standard.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Identification of Heterotopic Mineralization and Adjacent Pathology in the Equine Fetlock Region by Low-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cone-Beam and Fan-Beam Computed Tomography.

Heterotopic mineralization in equine distal limbs has been considered an incidental finding and little is known about its imaging features. The study aimed to identify heterotopic mineralization and adjacent pathology in the fetlock region with cone-beam (CB) computed tomography (CT), fan-beam (FB) CT, and low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Images from 12 equine cadaver limbs were examined for heterotopic mineralization and adjacent pathology and verified by macro-examination.

The Gambian epauletted fruit bat shows increased genetic divergence in the Ethiopian highlands and in an area of rapid urbanization.

The Gambian epauletted fruit bat () is an abundant species that roosts in both urban and rural settings. The possible role of as a reservoir host of zoonotic diseases underlines the need to better understand the species movement patterns. So far, neither observational nor phylogenetic studies have identified the dispersal range or behavior of this species.

Objective effectiveness of and indications for laser-assisted turbinectomy in brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of laser-assisted turbinectomy (LATE) in treating brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) and to investigate the potential indications.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Sample Population: Client-owned pugs, French bulldogs, and English bulldogs (n = 57).

Endotracheal tube placement during computed tomography of brachycephalic dogs alters upper airway dimensional measurements.

Computed tomography (CT) is used to document upper airway lesions in dogs with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. The presence of an endotracheal tube during CT scanning is often required for general anesthesia. We hypothesized that the endotracheal tube placement would change the soft tissue dimensions of the upper airway.

Conformational risk factors of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) in pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs.

Extremely brachycephalic, or short-muzzled, dog breeds such as pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs are prone to the conformation-related respiratory disorder-brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Affected dogs present with a wide range of clinical signs from snoring and exercise intolerance, to life-threatening events such as syncope. In this study, conformational risk factors for BOAS that could potentially aid in breeding away from BOAS were sought.

Outcomes and prognostic factors of surgical treatments for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome in 3 breeds.

Objective: To determine prognostic indicators for the surgical treatment of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) and to compare the prognosis of 2 multilevel surgical procedures.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Sample Population: Client-owned pugs, French bulldogs, and bulldogs (n = 50).

Bat trait, genetic and pathogen data from large-scale investigations of African fruit bats, Eidolon helvum.

Bats, including African straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum), have been highlighted as reservoirs of many recently emerged zoonotic viruses. This common, widespread and ecologically important species was the focus of longitudinal and continent-wide studies of the epidemiological and ecology of Lagos bat virus, henipaviruses and Achimota viruses. Here we present a spatial, morphological, demographic, genetic and serological dataset encompassing 2827 bats from nine countries over an 8-year period.

The complete mitochondrial genome of (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) and its phylogenetic analysis.

The Gambian epauletted fruit bat, , is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. Its assembled and annotated mitochondrial genome (GenBank accession no. KT963027) is 16,702 bases in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and two non-coding regions: the control region (D-loop) and the origin of light-strand replication (O).

Characterisation of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome in French Bulldogs Using Whole-Body Barometric Plethysmography.

Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) is an important health and welfare problem in several popular dog breeds. Whole-body barometric plethysmography (WBBP) is a non-invasive method that allows safe and repeated quantitative measurements of respiratory cycles on unsedated dogs. Here respiratory flow traces in French bulldogs from the pet population were characterised using WBBP, and a computational application was developed to recognise affected animals.

Continent-wide panmixia of an African fruit bat facilitates transmission of potentially zoonotic viruses.

The straw-coloured fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, is Africa's most widely distributed and commonly hunted fruit bat, often living in close proximity to human populations. This species has been identified as a reservoir of potentially zoonotic viruses, but uncertainties remain regarding viral transmission dynamics and mechanisms of persistence. Here we combine genetic and serological analyses of populations across Africa, to determine the extent of epidemiological connectivity among E.

Multiple mechanisms contribute to leakiness of a frameshift mutation in canine cone-rod dystrophy.

Unlabelled: Mutations in RPGRIP1 are associated with early onset retinal degenerations in humans and dogs. Dogs homozygous for a 44 bp insertion including a polyA(29) tract potentially leading to premature truncation of the protein, show cone rod degeneration. This is rapid and blinding in a colony of dogs in which the mutation was characterised but in dogs with the same mutation in the pet population there is very variable disease severity and rate of progression.

DLA class II alleles and haplotypes are associated with risk for and protection from chronic hepatitis in the English Springer spaniel.

Chronic hepatitis (CH) is common in dogs in the United Kingdom. An increased prevalence of the disease is seen in the English Springer spaniel (ESS), and this breed suffer from a severe form with young to middle aged female dogs being predisposed. The disease shares histological features with those of human viral hepatitis, although the specific aetiological agent has not yet been identified.

Genome-wide association study in RPGRIP1(-/-) dogs identifies a modifier locus that determines the onset of retinal degeneration.

Cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) is a form of inherited retinal degeneration (RD) causing blindness in man as well as in several breeds of dog. Previously, a 44 bp insertion in RPGRIP1 (retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator interacting protein-1) was associated with a recessive early-onset CRD (cone-rod dystrophy 1, cord1) in a Miniature longhaired dachshund (MLHD) research colony. Yet in the MLHD pet population, extensive range of the onset age has been observed among RD cases, with some RPGRIP1(-/-) dogs lacking obvious clinical signs.

Internet resources cataloguing inherited disorders in dogs.

Up-to-date annotated catalogues of known inherited disorders in dogs are freely available on the Internet, providing vital information to existing and prospective dog owners, dog breeders, veterinarians, geneticists and others interested in the occurrence and control of inherited disorders. These resources are the Canine Inherited Disorders Database (CIDD), Inherited Diseases in Dogs (IDID) and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) the latter associated with Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals (LIDA). The history and features of these resources are summarised.

An ADAMTS17 splice donor site mutation in dogs with primary lens luxation.

Purpose: To identify the genetic cause of isolated canine ectopia lentis, a well-characterized veterinary disease commonly referred to as primary lens luxation (PLL) and to compare the canine disease with a newly described human Weill-Marchesani syndrome (WMS)-like disease of similar genetic etiology.

Methods: Genomewide association analysis and fine mapping by homozygosity were used to identify the chromosomal segment harboring the PLL locus. The resequencing of a regional candidate gene was used to discover a mutation in a splice donor site predicted to cause exon skipping.

Phenotypic variation and genotype-phenotype discordance in canine cone-rod dystrophy with an RPGRIP1 mutation.

Purpose: Previously, a 44 bp insertion in exon 2 of retinitis pigmentosa GTPase interacting protein 1 (RPGRIP1) was identified as the cause of cone-rod dystrophy 1 (cord1), a recessive form of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) in the Miniature Longhaired Dachshund (MLHD), a dog model for Leber congenital amaurosis. The cord1 locus was mapped using MLHDs from an inbred colony with a homogeneous early onset disease phenotype. In this paper, the MLHD pet population was studied to investigate phenotypic variation and genotype-phenotype correlation.

Disruption of chromosome 11 in canine fibrosarcomas highlights an unusual variability of CDKN2B in dogs.

Background: In dogs in the western world neoplasia constitutes the most frequently diagnosed cause of death. Although there appear to be similarities between canine and human cancers, rather little is known about the cytogenetic and molecular alterations in canine tumours. Different dog breeds are susceptible to different types of cancer, but the genetic basis of the great majority of these predispositions has yet to be discovered.