Aligning with the 3Rs: alternative models for research into muscle development and inherited myopathies.

Inherited and acquired muscle diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in human medical and veterinary patients. Researchers use models to study skeletal muscle development and pathology, improve our understanding of disease pathogenesis and explore new treatment options. Experiments on laboratory animals, including murine and canine models, have led to huge advances in congenital myopathy and muscular dystrophy research that have translated into clinical treatment trials in human patients with these debilitating and often fatal conditions.

Development of a reliable clinical assessment tool for meningoencephalitis in dogs: The neurodisability scale.

Background: Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) comprises a group of debilitating inflammatory diseases affecting the central nervous system of dogs. Currently, no validated clinical scale is available for the objective assessment of MUO severity.

Objectives: Design a neurodisability scale (NDS) to grade clinical severity and determine its reliability and whether or not the score at presentation correlates with outcome.

Progressive Structural Defects in Canine Centronuclear Myopathy Indicate a Role for HACD1 in Maintaining Skeletal Muscle Membrane Systems.

Mutations in HACD1/PTPLA cause recessive congenital myopathies in humans and dogs. Hydroxyacyl-coA dehydratases are required for elongation of very long chain fatty acids, and HACD1 has a role in early myogenesis, but the functions of this striated muscle-specific enzyme in more differentiated skeletal muscle remain unknown. Canine HACD1 deficiency is histopathologically classified as a centronuclear myopathy (CNM).

Imaging diagnosis--spinal cord hemangioma in two dogs.

Intramedullary masses are a dilemma due to the limited access for a nonsurgical biopsy, thus, accurate imaging characterization is crucial. Magnetic resonance imaging findings of two confirmed canine thoracic intramedullary hemangiomas are described. A capillary hemangioma was of mixed intensity but predominantly T2-hyperintense and mildly T1-hyperintense to spinal cord with strong contrast enhancement.

A duchenne muscular dystrophy gene hot spot mutation in dystrophin-deficient cavalier king charles spaniels is amenable to exon 51 skipping.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which afflicts 1 in 3500 boys, is one of the most common genetic disorders of children. This fatal degenerative condition is caused by an absence or deficiency of dystrophin in striated muscle. Most affected patients have inherited or spontaneous deletions in the dystrophin gene that disrupt the reading frame resulting in unstable truncated products.