A review of neuroendoscopy and potential applications in veterinary medicine.

The endoscope was first developed over 200 yr ago. Endoscopy has since been applied to many disciplines of medicine. Its application to the nervous system was initially slow and not widely accepted and mainly involved the biopsy of tumors and the treatment of hydrocephalus.

Impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy on exercise performance, functional capacity, and quality of life in systolic heart failure with QRS prolongation: COMPANION trial sub-study.

Background: A total of 405 participants in the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure trial were prospectively enrolled in an exercise sub-study designed to study the influence of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on measures of exercise capacity, functional capacity, and quality of life (QOL).

Methods And Results: Substudy eligibility included New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional Class III or IV heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction < or =0.35, QRS interval of > or =120 ms, normal sinus rhythm, a heart failure hospitalization (or equivalent) within 1 year, a peak VO2 < or =22 mL x kg x min, the ability to walk 150 to 425 meters in 6 minutes, forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity > or =50%, and no clinical indication for a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Noninfectious inflammatory central nervous system diseases in dogs.

Inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system are often challenging to diagnose. Necrotizing meningoencephalitis, necrotizing leukoencephalitis, and granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis have characteristic locations of lesions on histopathologic examination and, therefore, characteristic findings from advanced imaging. Together with clinical signs and clinicopathologic data, these characteristic imaging findings may aid in establishing an accurate antemortem diagnosis.

Effect of body position on cranial migration of epidurally injected methylene blue in recumbent dogs.

Objective: To determine the relationship between different body positions during recumbency on the cranial migration of epidurally injected methylene blue in canine cadavers.

Sample Population: 21 fresh cadavers of clinically normal adult female mixed-breed dogs.

Procedure: Dogs were randomly assigned to the following 3 groups: dogs remaining in right lateral recumbency (n = 7), dogs rotated from left to right lateral recumbency (7), and dogs rotated from dorsal to right lateral recumbency (7).

A cooperative network of trained sites for the conduct of a complex clinical trial: a new concept in multicenter clinical research.

Background: The purpose of this report is to present a model of physicians in full-time clinical practice participating as investigators in multicenter clinical trials, sponsored by a pharmaceutical or medical device company.

Methods: This gas-exchange substudy was conducted as a pilot study to establish the feasibility of the 10-member EXERcise testing group of the Duke University Cooperative Cardiovascular Society (EXERDUCCS) consortium to perform a complex multicenter trial using cardiopulmonary exercise testing. An active interchange of information was established involving the principal investigator for the substudy, a dedicated full-time project coordinator, a medical director of the overall EXERDUCCS network site, the project coordinator for the sponsor, and all the participating EXERDUCCS investigators and coordinators.

Outcomes with an alternate list strategy for heart transplantation.

Background: Heart transplantation (HT) is an effective therapy for end-stage heart failure, but its impact is limited by the scarcity of donor organs and stringent selection criteria for both donors and recipients. The creation of an alternate list to match recipients with contraindications to traditional HT with sub-optimal donor organs has been implemented at some centers, but outcomes using this approach are uncertain.

Methods: We created an alternate list that matched recipients in whom standard HT was contraindicated with donor organs that had been rejected for use in standard transplantation.

Neospora caninum: adoptive transfer of immune lymphocytes precipitates disease in BALB/c mice.

Neospora caninum is a recently described apicomplexan parasite first isolated from a dog in 1988 and has subsequently been shown to infect a wide range of mammals. In mice, Neospora can cause primary pneumonia, myositis, encephalitis, radiculoneuritis, and pancreatitis. Whereas, certain aspects of the host immune response to Toxoplasma gondii have been well studied, not as much is known about the full immune response to Neospora.

A comparison of cardiac resynchronization by sequential biventricular pacing and left ventricular pacing to simultaneous biventricular pacing: rationale and design of the DECREASE-HF clinical trial.

Background: The first generation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices approved for the treatment of heart failure used simultaneous biventricular (BiV) pacing to achieve ventricular resynchronization. Left ventricular pacing alone and sequential BiV pacing also show promise as alternative ways to deliver CRT, but have not been studied together in a large randomized trial.

Methods: The Device Evaluation of CONTAK RENEWAL 2 and EASYTRAK 2: Assessment of Safety and Effectiveness in Heart Failure (DECREASE-HF) Trial is a randomized, double-blind, 3-arm study of patients in New York Heart Association Class III or IV with an ejection fraction of 35% or less and a QRS duration > or =150 ms.

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in captive and free-ranging nondomestic felids in the United States.

Seven serum samples of 101 samples from nondomestic, captive and free-ranging felids from the United States were indirect fluorescent antibody positive for antibodies to Neospora caninum, whereas 44 samples were positive for antibodies to T. gondii. Although none of the captive animals displayed clinical signs of disease, nondomestic felids in the United States have been exposed to, and are likely infected with, N.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy for the treatment of heart failure in patients with intraventricular conduction delay and malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) when combined with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Background: Long-term outcome of CRT was measured in patients with symptomatic heart failure (HF), intraventricular conduction delay, and malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation [VT/VF]) requiring therapy from an ICD.

Methods: Patients (n = 490) were implanted with a device capable of providing both CRT and ICD therapy and randomized to CRT (n = 245) or control (no CRT, n = 245) for up to six months.