Publications by authors named "German A"

Musculoskeletal disease (MSD) is common in ageing cats, resulting in chronic pain and mobility impairment, but diagnosis can be challenging. We hypothesised that there would be differences between cats with and without MSD in paw pressure and spatiotemporal and kinetic gait metrics. A cohort of 53 cats, aged between 7 and 10 years from the North West of the United Kingdom, underwent an orthopaedic examination and walked on a pressure sensitive walkway.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates when dogs are classified as "old" through analysis of veterinary clinical narratives, focusing on their welfare as they age.
  • A sample of 1,000 consultations identified 832 dogs considered to be of old age, with most dogs entering this stage around 7.25 years, particularly varying by breed.
  • Common health issues in older dogs included weight, musculoskeletal, dental, integumentary, and digestive conditions, suggesting a need for targeted health interventions as dogs age.
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Adult dogs and cats in overweight or obese condition are common, but prevalence data for different life stages, especially growth, are limited, and may help inform when preventative measures may be most effective. In this retrospective observational study, prevalences of overweight and obese condition were determined from the electronic medical records of dogs and cats of all life stages visiting Banfield Pet Hospital in the USA between 2020 and 2023. Animals were identified either by body condition score (BCS; overweight 6-7; obese 8-9) or from a clinical diagnosis of overweight condition or obesity when recorded.

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Objectives: The incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has increased worldwide over the last decades, mainly due to the lowering of screening thresholds, resulting in the increased identification of newborns with transient CH. Several studies have reported the prevalence and the predictive parameters of transient CH, but reports on the long-term outcome are rare. This study aimed to assess the long-term course of neonates with transient CH.

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Serum triglyceride concentrations increase in dogs with obesity, which is typically assessed by body condition score (BCS), however little is known about changes that take place in non-obese dogs in overweight condition. Further, the associations of triglyceride levels with other markers of energy homeostasis are poorly characterised in healthy animals. The present study aimed to evaluate associations between both BCS and triglyceride concentrations with other markers of lipid and glucose metabolism in healthy, non-obese dogs, as well as to assess whether these markers change significantly in non-obese dogs with overweight as compared to their lean counterparts.

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Objectives: We aimed to assess whether there is a difference between ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin as prophylaxis in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients.

Methods: This is a prospective, randomized trial in patients receiving SCT at Henry Ford Health in the United States of America. We randomly assigned patients (1:1) to receive ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin.

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Context: Central congenital hypothyroidism (CCH) is a thyroid hormone deficiency at birth caused by inadequate pituitary stimulation of the thyroid gland. Although primary CH has been studied extensively, studies on CCH are sparse.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of CCH in Israel and describe its clinical features, neonatal screening results, and outcomes.

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The objectives of this study were to provide insights on how injury risk is influenced by occupant demographics such as sex, age, and size; and to quantify differences within the context of commonly-occurring real-world crashes. The analyses were confined to either single-event collisions or collisions that were judged to be well-defined based on the absence of any significant secondary impacts. These analyses, including both logistic regression and descriptive statistics, were conducted using the Crash Investigation Sampling System for calendar years 2017 to 2021.

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Background: In people, obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, associated with systemic hypertension, cardiac remodelling and systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Weight reduction can reverse myocardial remodelling and reduce risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease. In cats, far less is known regarding the effects of obesity and subsequent weight reduction on cardiovascular morphology and function.

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Perceptions of dog owners and veterinary professionals (surgeons/nurses) can influence the preventive healthcare and treatment provided to dogs, especially at the senior life-stage, when chronic diseases become more common. This study compared perceptions of healthcare of dogs as they age between dog owners and veterinary professionals. Data from two online surveys (owners:  = 633, veterinary professionals:  = 305) examined perceived need for veterinary visits and vaccinations.

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Article Synopsis
  • - In April 2023, tofersen, an antisense oligonucleotide, was FDA-approved for treating ALS after it significantly reduced levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a marker of neurodegeneration.
  • - A follow-up study involving 24 ALS patients in Germany showed that while ALS functional scores declined, there was a notable reduction in both serum NfL and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNfH) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
  • - The therapy was considered safe, with no ongoing symptoms, despite some patients showing signs of immune response in the CSF, pointing to potential autoimmune reactions.
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Fatty acid hydroxylase-associated neurodegeneration (FAHN/SPG35) is caused by pathogenic variants in and has been linked to a continuum of specific motor and non-motor neurological symptoms, leading to progressive disability. As an ultra-rare disease, its mutational spectrum has not been fully elucidated. Here, we present the prototypical workup of a novel variant, including clinical and in silico validation.

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In pet dogs and cats, adiposity is most-often estimated clinically using a 9-category body condition score (BCS), with BCS 9 equating to ~ 40% overweight. Animals that are more overweight (> 40%) are seen in clinical practice but are not appropriately depicted by descriptions in the existing categories. To determine whether being > 40% overweight has clinical relevance, this study aimed to compare the outcomes of weight management in animals that were > 40% overweight with those < 40% overweight.

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The majority of natural products utilized to treat a diverse array of human conditions and diseases are derived from terrestrial sources. In recent years, marine ecosystems have proven to be a valuable resource of diverse natural products that are generated to defend and support their growth. Such marine sources offer a large opportunity for the identification of novel compounds that may guide the future development of new drugs and therapies.

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Purpose: To develop and validate a deep learning model for distinguishing healthy vocal folds (HVF) and vocal fold polyps (VFP) on laryngoscopy videos, while demonstrating the ability of a previously developed informative frame classifier in facilitating deep learning development.

Methods: Following retrospective extraction of image frames from 52 HVF and 77 unilateral VFP videos, two researchers manually labeled each frame as informative or uninformative. A previously developed informative frame classifier was used to extract informative frames from the same video set.

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Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy (PMMTI), a rare soft tissue tumor with distinct characteristics. PMMTI tends to have an aggressive local course, with multiple relapses and poor response to treatment. Rare cases of distant metastases have been described before.

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To evaluate the prevalence of medications with actionable pharmacogenomic (PGx) safety and efficacy recommendations in patients receiving care from the Veterans Health Administration. Outpatient prescription data from 2011 to 2021 and any documented adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reviewed for those who received PGx testing at one Veterans Administration location between November 2019 and October 2021. Among the reviewed prescriptions, 381 (32.

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Background: To date, there have been no studies comparing outcomes of cats with obesity following either complete or partial weight reduction protocols.

Methods: Fifty-eight cats participated in this non-randomized observational cohort study, including 46 (79%) and 12 (21%) that underwent complete or partial weight reduction protocols, respectively. Weight loss outcomes, body composition changes and essential nutrient intake were compared between cats in the two groups.

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Background: Information regarding serum insulin concentration in dogs newly diagnosed with insulinoma and its association with clinical stage and survival time is lacking.

Objective: Examine association between serum insulin concentration and survival and clinical disease stage in dogs with insulinoma.

Animals: Fifty-nine client-owned dogs with a diagnosis of insulinoma from 2 referral hospitals.

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Gastric carcinoma is generally considered to be a rare disease in dogs, carrying a grave prognosis. However, in the Tervueren and Groenendael varieties of the Belgian Shepherd dog breed, the disease is highly prevalent. While histopathology is the gold standard for diagnosing gastric carcinoma, there is no general consensus on the methods for histological classification in these cases.

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Objectives: Many UK dogs live into old age, but owners may not recognise or report age-associated signs of disease which lead to negative welfare. This study investigated dog owner and veterinary professional experiences and attitudes towards ageing in dogs, how health care is offered, barriers to its delivery, and some best-practice solutions.

Materials And Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 owners of 21 dogs (aged 8 to 17 years mean: 13) and 11 veterinary professional (eight veterinary surgeons, two nurses and one physiotherapist).

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The first aim of these studies was to compare growth patterns of healthy kittens neutered during growth with growth standards created for sexually-intact kittens. A second aim was to clarify the impact of neutering in kittens on body composition and body shape. Study 1 was a retrospective observational study comparing median growth trajectories of healthy, client-owned domestic shorthair (DSH) kittens in optimal body condition and neutered at different ages, with previously-created growth standards from a similar, sexually-intact, population.

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Background: Due to the absence of robust biomarkers, and the low sensitivity and specificity of routine imaging techniques, the differential diagnosis between Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) is challenging. High-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) opened up new possibilities regarding the analysis of pathological alterations associated with neurodegenerative processes. Recently, we have shown that quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) enables visualization and quantification of two major histopathologic hallmarks observed in MSA: reduced myelin density and iron accumulation in the basal ganglia of a transgenic murine model of MSA.

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