DISTRIBUTION AND SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF INJECTED GELIFIED ETHANOL INTO THE LUMBOSACRAL INTERVERTEBRAL DISC IN HEALTHY DOGS.

Radiopaque gelified ethanol preparation has been described as a useful agent for treatment of humans with intervertebral disc protrusion. The material is injected into the nucleus pulposus under image guidance with intention to cause the protruded disc material to recede. Because treatment options for dogs with chronic protrusions are limited, new and minimally invasive treatments are desirable.

Ultrasonography detects early laryngeal muscle atrophy in an equine neurectomy model.

Introduction: A unilateral neurectomy model was used to study the relationship between histologic and ultrasonographic tissue characteristics during muscle atrophy over time.

Methods: This investigation was an in vivo experimental study in an equine model (n = 28). Mean pixel intensity of ultrasonographic images was measured, a muscle appearance grade was assigned weekly, and muscles were harvested from 4 to 32 weeks.

Ultrasonographic detection of early atrophy of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles of horses.

Objective: To describe the ultrasonographic changes in the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis (CAD) and cricoarytenoideus lateralis (CAL) muscles of horses before and at various times during the 32 weeks after unilateral neurectomy of the right recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Animals: 28 healthy Standardbreds.

Procedures: For each horse, the appearance of the CAD and CAL muscles on the right (neurectomized) and left (control) sides was serially monitored ultrasonographically by percutaneous (CAD and CAL) and transesophageal (CAD) approaches.

3D-Ultrasonography for evaluation of facial muscles in patients with chronic facial palsy or defective healing: a pilot study.

Background: While standardized methods are established to examine the pathway from motorcortex to the peripheral nerve in patients with facial palsy, a reliable method to evaluate the facial muscles in patients with long-term palsy for therapy planning is lacking.

Methods: A 3D ultrasonographic (US) acquisition system driven by a motorized linear mover combined with conventional US probe was used to acquire 3D data sets of several facial muscles on both sides of the face in a healthy subject and seven patients with different types of unilateral degenerative facial nerve lesions.

Results: The US results were correlated to the duration of palsy and the electromyography results.

Comparison between computed tomography, fluoroscopy, and ultrasonography for guiding percutaneous injection of the canine intervertebral disc.

A minimally invasive method for delivering injectable therapeutic agents would be desirable for the treatment of intervertebral disc disease in dogs. The purpose of this study was to compare computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), and fluoroscopy modalities for guiding percutaneous injection into canine intervertebral discs. Intervertebral discs of 14 dog cadavers were injected with a gelified ethanol therapeutic agent.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous antegrade hydropropulsion to relieve ureteral obstruction in a pet guinea pig (Cavia porcellus).

Severe hydroureter and hydronephrosis secondary to ureteral obstruction by calculus were present in a guinea pig. A palliative ultrasound-guided percutaneous antegrade hydropropulsion was performed under general anesthesia to relieve the ureteral obstruction and the associated clinical signs. We describe the technique and the considerations for its potential application in similar cases.

Imaging diagnosis--temporomandibular joint dysplasia in a Basset Hound.

A 5-month-old intact male Basset Hound presented for evaluation of pain and crepitation during manipulation of the temporomandibular joint, worse on the right side. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the head was performed. The CT images demonstrated the osseous features of temporomandibular joint dysplasia and facilitated a 3D reconstruction, which allowed better visualization of the dysplastic features.

Experimental transmission of enzootic nasal adenocarcinoma in sheep.

Enzootic nasal adenocarcinoma (ENA) is a contagious neoplasm of the secretory epithelial cells of the nasal mucosa of sheep and goats. It is associated with the betaretrovirus, enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV), but a causative relationship has yet to be demonstrated. In this study, 14-day-old lambs were experimentally infected via nebulization with cell-free tumor filtrates derived from naturally occurring cases of ENA.

The Ontario Veterinary College Hip Certification Program -- assessing inter- and intra-observer repeatability and comparison of findings to those of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.

In Canada, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) has offered radiographic screening for hip dysplasia for many years, but there are other options for this service including the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). There are some differences between the OFA and the OVC methods, and this study compares the OVC and OFA hip certification results in 37 dogs. There was good agreement between the two programs but in some instances there was a difference in the pass/fail status of a dog.

Quantitative ultrasonography of facial muscles.

Introduction: There is no standardized method for examination of facial muscles with ultrasound. The purpose of this study was to identify those facial muscles accessible for reliable identification and to provide reference data.

Methods: In healthy subjects all facial muscles were screened for visibility, separation from adjacent muscles, and reliability of landmarks.

Diagnostic sensitivity and interobserver agreement of radiography and ultrasonography for detecting trochlear ridge osteochondrosis lesions in the equine stifle.

Osteochondrosis lesions commonly occur on the femoral trochlear ridges in horses and radiography and ultrasonography are routinely used to diagnose these lesions. However, poor correlation has been found between radiographic and arthroscopic findings of affected trochlear ridges. Interobserver agreement for ultrasonographic diagnoses and correlation between ultrasonographic and arthroscopic findings have not been previously described.

Diagnostic sensitivity of subjective and quantitative laryngeal ultrasonography for recurrent laryngeal neuropathy in horses.

Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) is the most common cause of laryngeal hemiplegia in horses and causes neurogenic atrophy of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles, including the cricoarytenoideus lateralis muscle. Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy results in paresis to paralysis of the vocal fold and arytenoid cartilage, which limits performance through respiratory compromise. Ultrasound has previously been reported to be a useful diagnostic technique in horses with RLN.

Effects of hypercapnia, hypocapnia, and hyperoxemia on brain morphometrics determined by use of T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in isoflurane-anesthetized dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of various combinations of PaCO2 and PaO2 values on brain morphometrics.

Animals: 6 healthy adult dogs.

Procedures: A modified Latin square design for randomization was used.

Ultrasonographic assessment of laryngohyoid position as a predictor of dorsal displacement of the soft palate in horses.

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate is an important cause of poor performance in racehorses, yet its etiology is not fully understood. Diagnosis requires treadmill videoendoscopy, which is not widely available. The relationship of the larynx, the hyoid apparatus, and the remainder of the skull may be important in predisposing horses to dorsal displacement of the soft palate.

Evaluation of agreement between two instruments in measurements of radiation dose rates in cats that underwent iodine I 131 treatment.

Objective: To assess agreement between a commercially available Geiger-Meuller (GM) survey meter and millirem tissue-equivalent (TE) meter for measuring radioactivity in cats treated with sodium iodine I 131 ((131)I).

Animals: 15 cats with hyperthyroidism and undergoing (131)I treatment.

Procedures: Duplicate measurements were obtained at a distance of 30 cm from the thyroid region of each cat's neck by 2 observers who used both meters on day 3 or 5 after(131)I administration.

Assessment of bone mineral density of the femoral head in dogs with early osteoarthritis.

Objective: To compare the bone mineral density (BMD) of the proximal portion of the femur in dogs with and without early osteoarthritis secondary to hip dysplasia.

Animals: 24 dogs (3 Greyhounds, 6 Labrador-Greyhound crossbreeds, and 15 Labrador Retrievers).

Procedure: Computed tomography (CT) of the pelvis, including a bone-density phantom, was performed for each dog.