Response to treatment with grapiprant as part of a standard multimodal regimen in young dogs with appendicular joint osteoarthritis associated pain.

Introduction: The response to medical management of young dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) associated pain has not been evaluated. Using an open-label design, the effectiveness, over a 4-month period, of standardized management (grapiprant/fish oil/exercise) for treating OA pain in young dogs was evaluated.

Methods: Included dogs were 9 months-4 years of age; ≥3.

Prevalence of radiographic appendicular osteoarthritis and associated clinical signs in young dogs.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) and associated clinical signs in young dogs. Owners of dogs aged 8 months-4 years from a single practice, were contacted in random order, to participate in a general health screen. Clinical and orthopedic examinations were performed.

Embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB mixture in the domestic chicken.

Studies were conducted to develop methods to assess the effects of a complex mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). Treatments were administered by egg injection to compare embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB congener mixture in the domestic chicken over a range of doses. Chicken eggs were injected with the PCB mixture with a profile similar to that found in avian eggs collected on the upper Hudson River, New York, USA, at doses that spanned 0 to 98 μg/g egg.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in early experimental and clinical acute pancreatitis.

Background/objectives: Mitochondrial dysfunction occurs in vital organs in experimental acute pancreatitis (AP) and may play an important role in determining severity of AP. However, obtaining vital organ biopsies to measure mitochondrial function (MtF) in patients with AP poses considerable risk of harm. Being able to measure MtF from peripheral blood will bypass this problem.

Metabolic programming of adipose tissue structure and function in male rat offspring by prenatal undernutrition.

Background: A number of different pathways to obesity with different metabolic outcomes are recognised. Prenatal undernutrition in rats leads to increased fat deposition in adulthood. However, the form of obesity is metabolically distinct from obesity induced through other pathways (e.

Postnatal development of metabolic flexibility and enhanced oxidative capacity after prenatal undernutrition.

Metabolic flexibility is the body's ability to adapt to changing energy demand and nutrient supply. Maternal undernutrition causes growth restriction at birth and subsequent obesity development. Intriguingly, metabolic flexibility is maintained due to adaptations of muscle tissue.

Metabolic responses to high-fat diets rich in n-3 or n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in mice selected for either high body weight or leanness explain different health outcomes.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) confer health benefits by improving insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism in liver, muscle and adipose tissue.

Methods: The present study investigates metabolic responses in two different lines of mice either selected for high body weight (DU6) leading to rapid obesity development, or selected for high treadmill performance (DUhTP) leading to a lean phenotype. At 29 days of age the mice were fed standard chow (7.

Early organ-specific mitochondrial dysfunction of jejunum and lung found in rats with experimental acute pancreatitis.

Introduction: Multiple organ dysfunction is the main cause of death in severe acute pancreatitis. Primary mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in the development and progression of organ failure in critical illness. The present study investigated mitochondrial function in seven tissues during early experimental acute pancreatitis.

The redox status of experimental hemorrhagic shock as measured by cyclic voltammetry.

Hemorrhagic shock (HS) leads to reactive oxygen species production. However, clinicians do not have access to bedside measurements of the redox status during HS. Cyclic voltammetry (CyV) is a simple electrochemical method of measuring redox status.

A systematic review of experimental treatments for mitochondrial dysfunction in sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care unit. Recently mitochondrial dysfunction has been proposed as a key early cellular event in critical illness. A growing body of experimental evidence suggests that mitochondrial therapies are effective in sepsis and MODS.

Prenatally induced changes in muscle structure and metabolic function facilitate exercise-induced obesity prevention.

Effective regulation of energy metabolism is vital for the maintenance of optimal health, and an inability to make these dynamic adjustments is a recognized cause of obesity and metabolic disorders. Epidemiological and experimental studies have highlighted the role of prenatal factors in the disease process, and it is now generally accepted that maternal nutrition during pregnancy significantly influences intrauterine development, shaping postnatal health. Consequences of impaired nutrition during fetal development include intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and subsequent obesity development in adult life.

Moderate daily exercise activates metabolic flexibility to prevent prenatally induced obesity.

Obesity and its associated comorbidities are of major worldwide concern. It is now recognized that there are a number of metabolically distinct pathways of obesity development. The present paper investigates the effect of moderate daily exercise on the underlying mechanisms of one such pathway to obesity, through interrogation of metabolic flexibility.

Prenatally undernourished rats show increased preference for wheel running v. lever pressing for food in a choice task.

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy has a significant influence in establishing patterns of metabolism and postnatal behaviours in offspring, and therefore shapes their risk of developing disorders in later life. Although it is well established that a mismatch between food consumption and energy expenditure leads to obesity and metabolic dysregulation, little research has investigated the biological origin of such behaviour. We conducted the present experiments to investigate effects of early-life nutrition on preference between wheel running and lever pressing for food during adult life.

Neuroendocrine and behavioral effects of embryonic exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in birds.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exert hormone-like activity in vertebrates and exposure to these compounds may induce both short- and long-term deleterious effects including functional alterations that contribute to decreased reproduction and fitness. An overview of the effects of a number of EDCs, including androgenic and estrogenic compounds, will be considered. Many studies have been conducted in the precocial Japanese quail, which provides an excellent avian model for testing these compounds.

Global undernutrition during gestation influences learning during adult life.

Intrauterine growth restriction can lead to significant long-term health consequences such as metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, but less is known about its effects on choice and behavioral adaptation in later life. Virgin Wistar rats were time mated and randomly assigned to receive either ad-libitum access to chow or 30% of that level of nutrition during pregnancy to generate growth-restricted offspring. At 60 days of age, 6 female offspring from each group were trained on concurrent variable-interval schedules.

Prenatal and postnatal pathways to obesity: different underlying mechanisms, different metabolic outcomes.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are worldwide health issues. The present paper investigates prenatal and postnatal pathways to obesity, identifying different metabolic outcomes with different effects on insulin sensitivity and different underlying mechanisms involving key components of insulin receptor signaling pathways. Pregnant Wistar rats either were fed chow ad libitum or were undernourished throughout pregnancy, generating either control or intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) offspring.

The Intermediate lactotroph: a morphologically distinct, ghrelin-responsive pituitary cell in the dwarf (dw/dw) rat.

Profound somatotroph hypoplasia in the dwarf (dw/dw) rat is accompanied by an estrogen-dependent induction of prolactin secretion by the GH secretagogue, GHRP-6. Using electron microscopy, we demonstrated that the reduction in the somatotroph population in the dw/dw pituitary is accompanied by the presence of a morphologically distinct lactotroph subpopulation. In these cells, which did not coexpress GH, the size, shape, and number of the secretory granules were between those of the type I and type II lactotrophs.

Assessing the consequences of the pesticide methoxychlor: neuroendocrine and behavioral measures as indicators of biological impact of an estrogenic environmental chemical.

Japanese quail provide an advantageous avian model for assessing long-term biological consequences of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These studies examined route of exposure and vulnerability to biological impact of EDCs over the life cycle in a precocial avian model, the Japanese quail. Embryonic exposure occurs with maternal deposition and methoxychlor (MXC) accumulated with maternal exposure.

Ghrelin and des-octanoyl ghrelin promote adipogenesis directly in vivo by a mechanism independent of the type 1a growth hormone secretagogue receptor.

Ghrelin promotes fat accumulation, despite potent stimulation of the lipolytic hormone, GH. The function of the major circulating isoform of ghrelin, des-octanoyl ghrelin, is unclear, because it does not activate the GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R1a) and lacks the endocrine activities of ghrelin. We have now addressed these issues by infusing ghrelin, des-octanoyl ghrelin, or synthetic GHS-R1a agonists into three rat models with moderate, severe, or total GH deficiency.

Pattern-dependent suppression of growth hormone (GH) pulsatility by ghrelin and GH-releasing peptide-6 in moderately GH-deficient rats.

The peptide hormone ghrelin binds to the GH secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), stimulates GH secretion, and promotes adipogenesis. However, continuous GHS infusion does not stimulate skeletal growth and is associated with desensitization to further GH secretagogue treatment. In this study, 7-d intermittent (i.

Establishing appropriate measures for monitoring aging in birds: comparing short and long lived species.

In order to reveal patterns of reproductive aging in birds we focus on a short lived species, the Japanese quail and the American kestrel, which has a life span of medium length. Quail have been studied extensively in the laboratory as models for understanding avian endocrinology and behavior, and as a subject for toxicological research and testing. In the lab, Japanese quail show age-related deterioration in endocrine, behavioral, and sensory system responses; the American kestrel is relatively long lived and shows moderate evidence of senescence in the oldest birds.

Reproductive consequences of EDCs in birds: what do laboratory effects mean in field species?

The varied reproductive strategies of birds present a challenge in developing reliable indices for the assessment of effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Precocial species, such as quail, appear to be most sensitive to EDC effects during embryonic development. Although the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is a nonnative lab species, its reproductive strategy is similar to that of many free-ranging species.