Prednisolone versus antihistamine for allergic rhinitis: No significant difference found in randomized trial.

Background: Seasonal allergic rhinitis (AR) impacts public health by affecting work productivity and quality of life. The Swedish tree pollen season starts in February with alder and hazel pollination, followed by birch and ends with oak in May. Systemic corticosteroids are often prescribed when topical treatments fail, despite limited evidence supporting their efficacy.

Osteochondrosis in the central and third tarsal bones of young horses.

Recently, the central and third tarsal bones of 23 equine fetuses and foals were examined using micro-computed tomography. Radiological changes, including incomplete ossification and focal ossification defects interpreted as osteochondrosis, were detected in 16 of 23 cases. The geometry of the osteochondrosis defects suggested they were the result of vascular failure, but this requires histological confirmation.

Computed tomography is superior to radiography for detection of feline elbow osteoarthritis.

Elbow osteoarthritis (OA) is common in cats and radiography is typically used for diagnosis. However computed tomography (CT), with its multiplanar three-dimensional characteristics, could have significant advantages for assessment of OA compared to radiography, particularly early in the disease process. The study objectives were to compare radiography and CT to histologic OA changes, investigate the stage of OA that radiography and CT detect, and search for specific changes in CT images strongly predictive for feline elbow OA.

Concentrations of canine prostate specific esterase, CPSE, at baseline are associated with the relative size of the prostate at three-year follow-up.

Background: Enlargement of the prostate is associated with prostatic diseases in dogs, and an estimation of prostatic size is a central part in the diagnostic workup. Ultrasonography is often the method of choice, but biomarkers constitute an alternative. Canine prostate specific esterase (CPSE) shares many characteristics with human prostate specific antigen (PSA) and is related to prostate size.

Computed tomography characteristics of equine paranasal sinus cysts.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is commonly used to investigate equine paranasal sinus disease, however, only limited information is available in the literature about the detailed CT appearance of equine paranasal sinus cysts.

Objectives: To investigate if paranasal sinus cysts have specific characteristics in CT images that allow differentiation from other sinus diseases.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study.

Nursing and training of pigs used in renal transplantation studies.

The pig is commonly used in renal transplantation studies since the porcine kidney resembles the human kidney. To meet the requirements of intense caretaking and examination without stress, a 2-week socialisation and training programme was developed. Conventional cross-breed pigs ( = 36) with high health status were trained for 15 min/day in a four-step training programme before kidney transplantation.

Renal ultrasonographic abnormalities are associated with low glomerular filtration rate calculated by scintigraphy in dogs.

Ultrasound provides information on kidney morphology, but studies relating structural and functional abnormalities in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are lacking. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to compare individual kidney (IK) B-mode ultrasound abnormalities to IK glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated by scintigraphy normalized to plasma volume (PV) in dogs, to evaluate if ultrasonographic findings were associated with low IKGFR/PV. Eighty privately owned dogs with and without clinical suspicion of CKD were prospectively enrolled, and kidney ultrasound and IKGFR/PV were evaluated independently.

Comparison of macroscopic resorption time for a self-locking device and suture material in ovarian pedicle ligation in dogs.

A resorbable self-locking device (LigaTie) was developed to enable safe and easy surgical ligation of blood vessels. The aim of this study was to compare the long-term in vivo resorption of the device to a commercially available suture of equivalent material (Maxon) following ovarian pedicle ligation. After ovariohysterectomy follow-up ultrasound examinations were performed monthly on 21 dogs ligated with the device and 22 dogs ligated with the suture material until no hyperechoic remnants, acoustic shadowing or local tissue reactions were detected.

Radiographic and ultrasonographic findings in a dog with emphysematous pyometra.

Background: Emphysematous pyometra is a rare canine disease characterized by gas-forming bacteria infecting the uterus and causing an accumulation of both gas and infectious exudate in the uterine lumen. While radiological features of emphysematous pyometra have been previously described in dogs, the ultrasonographic appearance has not been reported.

Case Presentation: A 7-year-old intact female Labrador Retriever was presented because of a 1 day history of vomiting, anorexia, mild polyuria/polydipsia and signs of fatigue.

Postoperative computed tomography and low-field magnetic resonance imaging findings in dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis treated by dorsal laminectomy.

Objectives: To describe postoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis (DLSS) treated by dorsal laminectomy and partial discectomy.

Methods: Prospective clinical case study of dogs diagnosed with and treated for DLSS. Surgical and clinical findings were described.

Mutations in DNMT3B Modify Epigenetic Repression of the D4Z4 Repeat and the Penetrance of Facioscapulohumeral Dystrophy.

Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) is associated with somatic chromatin relaxation of the D4Z4 repeat array and derepression of the D4Z4-encoded DUX4 retrogene coding for a germline transcription factor. Somatic DUX4 derepression is caused either by a 1-10 unit repeat-array contraction (FSHD1) or by mutations in SMCHD1, which encodes a chromatin repressor that binds to D4Z4 (FSHD2). Here, we show that heterozygous mutations in DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) are a likely cause of D4Z4 derepression associated with low levels of DUX4 expression from the D4Z4 repeat and increased penetrance of FSHD.

Online dosimetry for temoporfin-mediated interstitial photodynamic therapy using the canine prostate as model.

Online light dosimetry with real-time feedback was applied for temoporfin-mediated interstitial photodynamic therapy (PDT) of dog prostate. The aim was to investigate the performance of online dosimetry by studying the correlation between light dose plans and the tissue response, i.e.

High-frequency ultrasound of Peyer's patches in the small intestine of young cats.

Objectives: A previously unreported, asymmetrically positioned hypoechoic extra layer (APHEL) in the submucosa of the feline distal jejunum and ileum has been recognised using high-frequency ultrasound. The objectives of this study were to characterise the APHEL histologically, and to describe the prevalence and ultrasonographic features of the APHEL in a population of clinically healthy young cats.

Methods: In an anatomical study, two cats were autopsied and histopathology of the small intestine was performed.

Clinical and molecular characterization of an infant with a tandem duplication and deletion of 19p13.

Copy number variations (CNVs) on the short arm of chromosome 19 are relatively rare. We present a patient with a tandem de novo 3.9 Mb duplication of 19p13.

Comparison between tracheal ratio methods used by three observers at three occasions in English Bulldogs.

Background: Tracheal hypoplasia is a congenital condition described in mainly brachycephalic breeds and is one component of the brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Two radiographic methods have been described to evaluate the dimensions of the tracheal diameter in dogs and to distinguish between hypoplastic and non-hypoplastic tracheas: the tracheal lumen diameter to thoracic inlet distance ratio (TD/TI) and the ratio between the thoracic tracheal luminal diameter and the width of the proximal third of the third rib (TT/3R). The purpose of this study was to compare these two published radiographic methods between observers, different measuring occasions and to investigate the effect on classification of dogs as having hypoplastic or non-hypoplastic tracheas using four previously published mean ratios as cut-offs (<0.

Ligation of the spermatic cord in dogs with a self-locking device of a resorbable polyglycolic based co-polymer--feasibility and long-term follow-up study.

Background: New surgical techniques are developed to enable a quicker, easier and safer surgery with reduced risk of complications and shortened time needed for recovery. A resorbable device, a self-locking loop, was designed for surgical ligation. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of ligating the spermatic cord with the device, its biocompatibility and long-term resorption in dogs.

Increased NT-proANP predicts risk of congestive heart failure in Cavalier King Charles spaniels with mitral regurgitation caused by myxomatous valve disease.

Objectives: To evaluate the predictive value of plasma N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP) and nitric oxide end-products (NOx) as markers for progression of mitral regurgitation caused by myxomatous mitral valve disease.

Animals: Seventy-eight privately owned Cavalier King Charles spaniels with naturally occurring myxomatous mitral valve disease.

Methods: Prospective longitudinal study comprising 312 measurements over a 4.

The social behavioral phenotype in boys and girls with an extra X chromosome (Klinefelter syndrome and Trisomy X): a comparison with autism spectrum disorder.

The present study aimed to gain more insight in the social behavioral phenotype, and related autistic symptomatology, of children with an extra X chromosome in comparison to children with ASD. Participants included 60 children with an extra X chromosome (34 boys with Klinefelter syndrome and 26 girls with Trisomy X), 58 children with ASD and 106 controls, aged 9 to 18 years. We used the Autism Diagnostic Interview, Social Responsiveness Scale, Social Anxiety Scale and Social Skills Rating System.

Evaluation of osteochondral sample collection guided by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for early detection of osteoarthritis in centrodistal joints of young Icelandic horses.

Objective: To evaluate the use of CT and MRI for guidance of osteochondral sample collection for histologic detection of early osteoarthritic lesions in centrodistal (distal intertarsal) joints of horses.

Sample: Right tarsal joints from the cadavers of 24 Icelandic horses aged 29 to 31 months.

Procedures: CT and MRI were used to evaluate the extent of suspected osteoarthritic changes in centrodistal joints, which were graded with a semiquantitative system.

Molecular and clinical characterization of patients with a ring chromosome 11.

Ring chromosomes are uncommon cytogenetic findings and are often associated with clinical features overlapping the phenotype of patients with terminal deletions of the corresponding chromosome. Most of the ring chromosomes arise sporadically and parental transmission is rarely observed. We report five patients carrying a ring chromosome 11, with three of the patients belonging to the same family.

Constitutional chromothripsis rearrangements involve clustered double-stranded DNA breaks and nonhomologous repair mechanisms.

Chromothripsis represents a novel phenomenon in the structural variation landscape of cancer genomes. Here, we analyze the genomes of ten patients with congenital disease who were preselected to carry complex chromosomal rearrangements with more than two breakpoints. The rearrangements displayed unanticipated complexity resembling chromothripsis.

Evaluation of a positioning method for equine lateral stifle scintigrams.

Background: The current lack of a standardized protocol for positioning of the gamma camera relative to the horse limb in a lateral stifle scintigram, and thus the reliance on subjective positioning, may be a cause of diagnostic error and inter-operator variability due to variations of the view angle. The aims of this study were to develop a reliable method to obtain a lateral scintigram of the equine stifle based on fixed anatomical landmarks and measure the resulting foot to gamma camera angle on sequential measurements of the same horse and of different horses

Methods: Technetium filled capsules were glued on the skin on sites adjacent to the origin of the medial and lateral femorotibial collateral ligaments in 22 horses using ultrasound guidance. A lateral view of the stifle was defined as the image where the two radioactive point sources were aligned vertically (point sources guided method).

Three new cases with a mosaicism involving a normal cell line and a cryptic unbalanced autosomal reciprocal translocation.

Mosaicism involving a normal cell line and an unbalanced autosomal translocation are rare. In this study we present three new cases with such a mosaicism, which were detected by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) array analysis in our routine diagnostic setting. These cases were further characterized using Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation (FISH) analysis and conventional karyotyping.

The clinical spectrum of complete FBN1 allele deletions.

The most common mutations found in FBN1 are missense mutations (56%), mainly substituting or creating a cysteine in a cbEGF domain. Other mutations are frameshift, splice and nonsense mutations. There are only a few reports of patients with marfanoid features and a molecularly proven complete deletion of a FBN1 allele.