Results of the veterinary enalapril trial to prove reduction in onset of heart failure in dogs chronically treated with enalapril alone for compensated, naturally occurring mitral valve insufficiency.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of long-term enalapril administration in delaying the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF).

Design: Placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter, randomized trial.

Animals: 124 dogs with compensated mitral valve regurgitation (MR).

Evaluation of urine sucrose concentration for detection of gastric ulcers in horses.

Objective: To evaluate the use of sucrose permeability testing to detect ulcers in the gastric squamous mucosa of horses.

Animals: 13 adult horses ranging from 5 to 19 years of age.

Procedure: Following induction of gastric ulcers by intermittent feed deprivation, horses underwent sucrose permeability testing (administration of sucrose by nasogastric intubation followed by collection of urine at 2 and 4 hours after intubation) and gastric endoscopy.

Comparison of paste and suspension formulations of omeprazole in the healing of gastric ulcers in racehorses in active training.

Objective: To compare effects of a commercially available omeprazole paste and a compounded omeprazole suspension on healing of gastric ulcers in Thoroughbred racehorses in active training.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Animals: 32 horses with gastric ulcers.

Effects of long-term administration of enalapril on clinical indicators of renal function in dogs with compensated mitral regurgitation.

Objective: To determine the effect of long-term administration of enalapril on renal function in dogs with severe, compensated mitral regurgitation.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Animals: 139 dogs with mitral regurgitation but without overt signs of heart failure.

Factors associated with gastric lesions in thoroughbred racehorses.

Gastroscopic examinations were performed on 67 Thoroughbred horses in training at a race track and repeat examinations performed in 35 horses, 2 to 3 months later. Horses were age 2-9 years and included 16 two-year-olds, 32 three-year-olds and 19 horses > or = 4-years-old. Forty-two of the 67 horses had raced within the 2 months before the initial examination and the remaining 25 horses were in training.

Pulmonary edema associated with transient airway obstruction in three horses.

Pulmonary edema associated with transient airway obstruction was detected in 3 horses. The cause of obstruction was different in each horse, but after relief of the obstruction, clinical signs and radiographic abnormalities were indicative of pulmonary edema. In 2 of the 3 horses, pink frothy fluid was evident in the airways.

Measurement of muscle surface capillary blood flow by laser Doppler flowmetry.

Muscle surface capillary blood flow was measured in the biceps femoris and lateral head of the triceps brachii muscles in six horses before and during halothane anesthesia by using laser Doppler flowmetry. During 90 minutes of anesthesia, muscle surface capillary blood flow was reduced to 20% to 40% of preanesthetic values. Muscle surface capillary blood flow tended to be lower in dependent muscles than in nondependent muscles, and this disparity was greater in the forelimbs than in the hind limbs.

Preliminary studies on the vascular anatomy of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon.

The vascular and microvascular anatomy of normal equine superficial digital flexor tendons was studied by dissection of vinyl-perfused specimens and by microangiography on high detail film. The presence of an extensive intratendinous vascular latticework was confirmed, and a 'nutrient artery' described closely associated with the accessory ligament of the superficial digital flexor tendon (proximal check ligament). Circumferential stripping of the paratenon from the tendon to eliminate afferent vessels was performed bilaterally in three horses and unilaterally in a fourth, followed by a treadmill training regimen.

Effects of cocaine on epicardial coronary artery reactivity in miniature swine after endothelial injury and high cholesterol feeding. In vivo and in vitro analysis.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cocaine on vasoreactivity in the swine model. Eight miniature pigs underwent regional endothelial denudation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and were then fed a high cholesterol diet. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of coronary arteries was measured by quantitative angiography.

Effects of calcium channel blockers on coronary vasoconstriction induced by endothelin-1 in closed chest pigs.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of endothelin-1 on the coronary vascular bed of closed chest pigs. Endothelin-1 (3 to 30 pmol/kg body weight) was selectively administered into the left anterior descending coronary artery. Coronary blood flow and epicardial vessel diameter were measured by quantitative arteriography.

Milrinone. A clinical trial in 29 dogs with moderate to severe congestive heart failure.

Milrinone, a positive inotropic drug with vasodilating properties, was administered at doses of 0.5 to 1 mg/kg orally twice daily to 29 dogs with moderate to severe congestive heart failure (CHF). Significant echocardiographic improvement in ventricular systolic function was observed after 3 days of administration of milrinone and at the patients' last echocardiographic observation (day 21 in 25 subjects, day 7 in 2 subjects, and day 3 in 2 subjects).

Antepartum evaluations of the equine fetus.

Measurements were made by real-time ultrasonography in 14 healthy mares to assess fetal growth and estimate newborn foal weights. Intrauterine fluid volumes were estimated and the placenta was measured and observed for maturational changes. The onset and incidence of echogenic particles in the allantoic fluid were recorded.

Echocardiographic detection of ventricular septal defects in large animals.

Ventricular septal defects in a foal, a 2-year-old filly, and 2 calves were demonstrated with M-mode and two-dimensional real-time echocardiography. The studies were performed with the animals unsedated, either standing or in lateral recumbency. Cardiac windows were located between the 4th and 7th intercostal spaces, approximately at the level of the olecranon.

Echocardiographic and clinical effects of milrinone in dogs with myocardial failure.

Milrinone is a recently synthesized bypyridine compound with positive inotropic and arteriolar dilating properties in persons and experimental animals. To examine the efficacy and safety of milrinone to treat myocardial failure in dogs, dogs with myocardial failure were selected from the patient populations of 3 veterinary hospitals. Progressively increased dosages of milrinone, from 0.

Endocarditis in six horses.

Six horses (five males) aged three months to fourteen years had endocarditis at necropsy. Two of the horses had a clinical diagnosis of valvular endocarditis with negative blood cultures. Single or complex valvular involvement was present in five horses.

Techniques and applications of transabdominal ultrasonography in the pregnant mare.

To establish the feasibility of utilizing high-frequency ultrasound to image equine fetal development transabdominally, in vitro and in vivo observations were made. Three fetuses retrieved from mares that died from various causes were scanned in vitro to establish fetal images from various orientations. A total of 50 mares ranging in age from 4 to 16 years and representing various breeds were scanned intermittently from 100 days of gestation to parturition.

Ultrasonography as an adjunct to pregnancy assessments in the mare.

Ultrasonographic detection of pregnancy was performed in 952 Thoroughbred mares. Characteristic images were obtained between 12 and 55 days after breeding. Twins in the same uterine horn as well as twins in opposite horns were imaged, and for the first few months of gestation appeared similar to single pregnancies.

Echocardiographic features of aortic valve endocarditis in a dog, a cow, and a horse.

A horse, a cow, and a dog with aortic valve vegetative endocarditis were studied by M-mode echocardiography. Echocardiographic abnormalities of the aortic valve, mitral valve, and left ventricle were observed. These features were identical to those reported in human beings with aortic valve endocarditis.

Diagnosis of cardiac lesions by contrast echocardiography.

Contrast M-mode echocardiography was utilized to study animals with congenital and acquired cardiac defects. Contrast was produced through the rapid injection of isotonic NaCl solution, the patient's blood, or indocyanine green dye into the circulation. Peripheral vein and intracardiac injections of contrast material were used to document ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot, atrial septal defect, and mitral valve regurgitation.