Mutual benefits for research and practice: Randomized controlled trials in the Hector Children's Academy Program.

This article describes how a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were implemented in the Hector Children's Academy Talent Development Program with the goal of generating mutual benefits for research and practice. The Hector Children's Academy Program, founded in 2010 and located in one of the largest states in Germany, Baden-Württemberg, is a statewide enrichment program for talented primary school students, with a focus on STEMM topics. The program is financed by a private foundation, supervised by the Ministry of Education, and offered by 69 local sites that are hosted by local schools.

Polymorphisms in the ABCB1 gene in phenobarbital responsive and resistant idiopathic epileptic Border Collies.

Background: Variation in the ABCB1 gene is believed to play a role in drug resistance in epilepsy.

Hypothesis/objectives: Variation in the ABCB1 gene encoding the permeability-glycoprotein could have an influence on phenobarbital (PB) resistance, which occurs with high frequency in idiopathic epileptic Border Collies (BCs).

Animals: Two hundred and thirty-six client-owned BCs from Switzerland and Germany including 25 with idiopathic epilepsy, of which 13 were resistant to PB treatment.

Retrospective study of salinomycin toxicosis in 66 cats.

We examined 66 cats with salinomycin intoxication. Salinomycin caused different LMN signs of varying degrees of severity in all cases. Changes in blood work were unspecific, with the most frequent being increased serum creatine kinase activity, leukocytosis, and increased liver enzymes.

Incidence of spinal compressive lesions in chondrodystrophic dogs with abnormal recovery after hemilaminectomy for treatment of thoracolumbar disc disease: a prospective magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: To investigate causes of the lack of clinical improvement after thoracolumbar disc surgery.

Study Design: Case-control magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study.

Animals: Chondrodystrophic dogs with acute thoracolumbar disc disease treated by hemilaminectomy: 10 that had no short-term clinical improvement and 12 with "normal" clinical improvement.

Laser-Doppler measurements of spinal cord blood flow changes during hemilaminectomy in chondrodystrophic dogs with disk extrusion.

Objectives: (1) To assess spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) during surgical treatment of disk extrusion in dogs and (2) to investigate associations between SCBF, clinical signs, presurgical MRI images, and 24-hour surgical outcome.

Study Design: Cohort study.

Animals: Chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disk extrusion (n=12).

Non-selective cutaneous sensory neurectomy as an alternative treatment for auto-mutilation lesion following arthrodesis in three dogs.

Objective: To describe an alternative method for the treatment of non-responsive self-mutilation injuries in three dogs after carpal/tarsal arthrodesis.

Study Design: Case series

Animals: Two dogs with carpal injury and one dog with tarsal injury treated by arthrodesis

Methods: All dogs developed self-mutilation injuries due to licking and/or chewing of the toes within 21-52 days of surgery. Clinical signs did not resolve within one week after conservative treatment with wound debridement and protective bandages.

Effects of adjunct electroacupuncture on severity of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy because of acute thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease.

Objective: To compare severity of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy because of acute thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease treated with a combination of conventional analgesics and electroacupuncture (EAP) or with conventional analgesics alone.

Design: Controlled clinical trial.

Animals: 15 dogs undergoing surgery because of acute thoracolumbar disk disease.

Comparative study of vertebral fractures and luxations in dogs and cats.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare patterns of vertebral fractures and luxations in 42 cats and 47 dogs, and to evaluate the impact of species-related differences on clinical outcome. Data regarding aetiology, neurological status, radiographic appearance and follow-up were compared between the groups. The thoracolumbar (Th3-L3) area was the most commonly affected location in both cats (49%) and dogs (58%).

Modified temporal approach for a rostro-temporal basal meningioma in a cat.

An 11-year-old neutered female domestic shorthair indoor cat was presented to our hospital for treatment of a left-sided rostro-temporal basal meningioma. Focal seizures in the facial muscles had been observed sporadically for 1 year. Two weeks prior to presentation the cat had developed generalised seizures and was treated with symptomatic anticonvulsive treatment.

Cerebellar ependymal cyst in a dog.

An 11-week-old, male, Staffordshire Bull Terrier had a history of generalized ataxia and falling since birth. The neurologic findings suggested a localization in the cerebellum. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed.

Thymectomy in a cat with myasthenia gravis: a case report focusing on perianaesthetic management.

An 8 years old male persian cat with a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis was scheduled for transternal thoracotomy. An anterior mediastinal mass, suspected to be a thymoma, had to be resected. Progressive paraparesis and reduced ocular reflexes and menace response were the main clinical features.

Influence of intervertebral disc fenestration at the herniation site in association with hemilaminectomy on recurrence in chondrodystrophic dogs with thoracolumbar disc disease: a prospective MRI study.

Objective: To describe the influence of fenestration at the disc herniation site on recurrence in thoracolumbar disc disease of chondrodystrophoid dogs.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Animals: Chondrodystrophic dogs (n=19).

Electroencephalography in the diagnosis of hydrocephalus in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is a popular laboratory animal and is used in a multitude of behavioural studies. However, it has been shown that it suffers from different forms of hereditary hydrocephalus, which may result in behavioural changes. This prospective study was designed to look into the usefulness of electroencephalography (EEG) measurements in the diagnosis of hydrocephalus in hamsters.

Intracranial meningiomas associated with cervical syringohydromyelia in a cat.

A 13-year-old, female neutered, domestic shorthair indoor cat was referred to our hospital for treatment of multiple meningiomas. A slight generalized ataxia was seen, proprioception was severely decreased on all four limbs, and menace reaction was bilaterally reduced. Pre- and postoperatively MRI examination were performed.

Stabilisation of atlantoaxial subluxation in the dog through ventral arthrodesis.

Ten miniature breed dogs with atlantoaxial subluxation underwent ventral lag screw stabilisation. The procedure did not include bone graft packing into the atlantoaxial articulation. Four dogs showed continuous improvement after surgery.

Visual and quantitative electroencephalographic analysis of healthy young and adult cats under medetomidine sedation.

A study was designed to investigate the effect of medetomidine sedation on quantitative electroencephalography (q-EEG) in healthy young and adult cats to determine objective guidelines for diagnostic EEG recordings and interpretation. Preliminary visual examination of EEG recordings revealed high-voltage low-frequency background activity. Spindles, k-complexes and vertex sharp transients characteristic of sleep or sedation were superimposed on a low background activity.

Accuracy of the withdrawal reflex for localization of the site of cervical disk herniation in dogs: 35 cases (2004-2007).

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of neurologic examination versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in localization of cervical disk herniation and evaluate the usefulness of withdrawal reflex testing in dogs.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 35 client-owned dogs with a single-level cervical disk herniation as determined via MRI.

Lumbar spinal 'juxtaarticular' cyst in a Gordon setter.

An 11-year-old Gordon setter bitch was presented with a history of progressive weakness in the right hind limb associated with pain in the lumbar spine. Neurological deficits consisted of ataxia, monoparesis, muscle atrophy and spontaneous over-knuckling of the affected limb. A large 'juxtaarticular' cyst located in a right dorsolateral position of the intervertebral foramen at L3-L4 was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging.

Retrospective analysis of seizures associated with feline infectious peritonitis in cats.

Seizures have been reported frequently in feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) but have not been studied in detail in association with this disease. The purpose of this study was to perform a retrospective analysis of neurological signs in a population of 55 cats with a histopathologically confirmed neurological form of FIP. Seizure patterns were determined and it was attempted to relate occurrence of seizures with age, breed, sex and neuropathological features.

Iatrogenic sciatic nerve injury in eighteen dogs and nine cats (1997-2006).

Objective: To report clinical features associated with iatrogenic peripheral nerve injury in dogs and cats admitted (1997-2006) to a referral teaching hospital.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Dogs (n=18), 9 cats.

Thoracolumbar dorsolateral laminectomy with osteotomy of the spinous process in fourteen dogs.

Objective: To describe outcome after an alternative unilateral approach to the thoracolumbar spine for dorsal laminectomy.

Study Design: Retrospective clinical study.

Animals: Dogs (n=14) with thoracolumbar spinal cord compression.

Canine neurological diseases in a referral hospital population between 1989 and 2000 in Switzerland.

Objectives: To merge clinical information from partly overlapping medical record databases of the Small Animal Teaching Hospital of the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne. To describe the frequencies and localisations of neurological diseases in dogs, as well as their age, gender, breed and geographical distributions.

Methods: In this retrospective study, a new database, with specific variables and a diagnosis key list 'VITAMIN D', was created and defined.

Multiple meningiomas: clinical, radiological, surgical, and pathological findings with outcome in four cats.

The present report describes the clinical signs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, surgical procedure, pathological findings and follow-up in four cats with multiple meningiomas; three castrated male and one spayed female domestic shorthair indoor cats, ranging in age from 11 to 14 years. In three of four cats, clinical signs at presentation were suggestive of a focal lesion. Three cats had two meningiomas and one had four meningiomas.