Birth outcomes of twins after multifetal pregnancy reduction compared with primary twins.

Background: The introduction of assisted reproductive technology and the trend of increasing maternal age at conception have contributed to a significant rise in the incidence of multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies bear several inherent risks for both mother and child. These risks increase with plurality and type of chorionicity.

Technical Repeatability and Reproducibility of the Stress Radiographs Performed with the Vezzoni-Modified Badertscher Hip Distension Device.

Objective:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of the radiographical stress technique using the Vezzoni-modified Badertscher distension device (VMBDD).

Materials And Methods:  Stress radiographs of 10 dogs obtained with the VMBDD were performed consecutively by two different operators and then measured twice by a third veterinarian. The technical repeatability was first assessed individually for the two operators who took the stress radiographs, followed by the technical reproducibility.

Intra-arterial versus intra venous contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the equine head.

Background: The anatomical complexity of the horse's head limits the abilities of radiography. Computed tomography (CT) in combination with contrast enhanced CT is used more often for diagnosing various head pathology in horses. The objective of this study was to compare intravenous and intra-arterial contrast-enhancement techniques and describe normal and abnormal contrast enhancement in the horse's head.

Computed Tomographic and Low-Field Magnetic Resonance Arthrography: A Comparison of Techniques For Observing Intra-articular Structures of the Normal Canine Shoulder.

Objective: To compare low-field magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) and computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) for identification of intra-articular ligaments and joint cartilage in the normal canine shoulder with the aid of cross-sectional anatomy.

Animals: Normal adult Foxhounds (n = 3) and 4 Foxhound cadaver shoulders.

Methods: CTA of 3 dogs was performed after intra-articular administration of contrast medium in both shoulders.

Calprotectin (S100A8/9) as serum biomarker for clinical response in proof-of-concept trials in axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis.

Introduction: Biomarkers complementing clinical evaluations may help to reduce the length and size of proof-of-concept (PoC) trials aimed to obtain quick "go/no go" decisions in the clinical development of new treatments. We aimed to identify and validate serum biomarkers with a high sensitivity to change upon effective treatment in spondyloarthritis (SpA) PoC trials.

Methods: The candidate biomarkers high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), alpha-2-macroglobulin (alpha-2-MG), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), calprotectin, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in healthy controls (n = 20) and SpA patients before and after 2 weeks of infliximab (n = 18) or placebo (n = 19) treatment in cohort 1.

Computed tomography atlas of the normal cranial canine abdominal vasculature enhanced by dual-phase angiography.

This study was performed to provide a detailed atlas of the normal arterial and venous canine vasculature in the cranial abdomen by dual-phase computed tomographic angiography. Five adult beagles were positioned in dorsal recumbency on a multislice helical CT scanner. An unenhanced survey CT scan from the diaphragm to the pelvic inlet was performed.

Undifferentiated spondyloarthritis vs ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis: a real-life prospective cohort study of clinical presentation and response to treatment.

Objective: SpA is a phenotypically heterogeneous disease, with AS and PsA as its best studied subtypes. This study aimed to investigate whether, despite a different phenotypic presentation, patients with undifferentiated SpA (uSpA) have similar disease activity and response to treatment to those with AS and PsA.

Methods: 175 patients presenting at a dedicated SpA outpatient clinic were recruited in a real-life prospective cohort with follow-up every 3 months.

Efficacy and safety of adalimumab for the treatment of peripheral arthritis in spondyloarthritis patients without ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in patients with peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) not fulfilling the criteria for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: 40 patients with active peripheral SpA fulfilling the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group or Amor criteria but not the criteria for AS or PsA were included in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Patients were treated 1 : 1 with adalimumab or placebo for 12 weeks, followed by an open label extension up to week 24.

Anti-TNF treatment blocks the induction of T cell-dependent humoral responses.

Objective: Experimental and human data suggest that tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockade may affect B cell responses, in particular the induction of T cell-dependent (TD) humoral immunity. This study aimed to assess this hypothesis directly in patients with arthritis by analysing longitudinally the effect of TNF blockade on B cell activation and the maturation of humoral responses against TD and T cell-independent vaccines.

Materials And Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 56 spondyloarthritis patients before and after treatment with either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) alone or TNF blockers and analysed for B cell activation, plasma cell differentiation, germinal centre versus extra-follicular B cell maturation, and somatic hypermutation.

Micro-computed tomography of the head and dentition in cadavers of clinically normal rabbits.

Objective: To describe the anatomic features of dentition and surrounding structures of the head in rabbits assessed by use of a newly developed micro-computed tomography (CT) device.

Sample: Cadavers of 7 clinically normal adult Dendermonde White domestic rabbits raised for human consumption.

Procedures: The rabbits were slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, flayed, and decapitated; the rabbit heads were frozen for micro-CT examination.

Synovial Tissue Response to Treatment with TNF Blockers in Peripheral Spondyloarthritis.

This review describes the synovial response to treatment in peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA). A series of recent studies demonstrates that the synovial histopathology is largely homogenous between different SpA subtypes and can be strongly modulated by effective treatment such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockade. This includes a dramatic reduction of the infiltration with inflammatory cells (with the intriguing exception of B lymphocytes and plasma cells), a modulation of structural features such as vascularity, intimal lining layer hyperplasia, and ectopic lymphoid neogenesis, and a down-regulation of a variety of mediators involved in tissue damage.

Comparison of radiography and CT to identify changes in the skulls of four rabbits with dental disease.

Four domestic pet rabbits with dental pathology were presented at a university clinic. In addition to conducting physical examinations of the rabbits, radiographic and computed tomographic (CT) images of the rabbits' heads were obtained. Three rabbits were euthanized at the owners' request, and anatomic sections of the skulls were made.

'MRI-tis' in the early diagnosis of axial SpA: issues and limitations.

Sacroiliitis on conventional radiography, a key diagnostic feature of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), often appears only late in the disease course. With the introduction of potent biologic agents that may also be effective in early disease, diagnostic techniques that can identify SpA early in the disease course would be highly beneficial to patients. MRI has been proposed as a novel diagnostic tool for early axial SpA based on the visualization of active inflammatory lesions in established axial SpA, as well as in pre-radiographic axial SpA.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the canine elbow: an anatomic study.

Objectives: To describe the normal anatomy of the soft tissues stabilizing the canine elbow observed by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Study Design: Descriptive study.

Animals: Cadavers of large breed dogs (n=3).

Low-field magnetic resonance imaging and cross-sectional anatomy of the rabbit head.

The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed anatomical description of the soft-tissue structures of the head of normal rabbits using low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The cadaver heads of six domestic rabbits and one dwarf rabbit were used to perform transverse, sagittal and dorsal 2.5-mm-thick T1-weighted images.

Computed tomography and cross-sectional anatomy of the head in healthy rabbits.

Objective: To obtain a detailed anatomic description of the rabbit head by means of computed tomography (CT).

Animals: 6 clinically normal Dendermonde White rabbits weighing 3 kg and raised for human consumption and 1 Netherland dwarf rabbit.

Procedures: The commercially raised rabbits were slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, flayed, and decapitated.

Melanoma inhibitory activity, a biomarker related to chondrocyte anabolism, is reversibly suppressed by proinflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: In mice, melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) is a chondrocyte-specific molecule with similar regulation to collagen type II. As MIA is a small secreted protein, its value as cartilage biomarker in human inflammatory arthritis was assessed.

Methods: MIA tissue distribution was studied by quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry.

Exposure to nuclear antigens contributes to the induction of humoral autoimmunity during tumour necrosis factor alpha blockade.

Objective: Type I interferons and apoptotic particles contribute to antinuclear autoimmunity in experimental models. This study assessed whether similar mechanisms contribute to break peripheral B-cell tolerance in humans by studying the induction of antinuclear antibodies by tumour necrosis factor blockade in spondyloarthritis.

Methods: 40 spondyloarthritis patients treated with infliximab or etanercept and 20 renal cell carcinoma patients treated with sorafenib were studied.

Ultrasound approach to the canine distal tibia and trochlear ridges of the talus.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate to what extent the distal tibia and the trochlear ridges of the talus can be examined with ultrasound (US) in the dog and to establish a protocol for an optimal US examination of these ridges. Six hind limbs of deceased adult mixed-breed dogs were used. In two limbs, needles were placed using US guidance on the trochlea of the talus, just dorsal to and plantar to the distal tibia: one with the tarsal joint in extension and one with the joint in flexion.

Effects of intra-articular corticosteroids and anti-TNF therapy on neutrophil activation in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The pro-inflammatory calcium-binding protein S100A12 has been recently ascribed to the novel group of damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules. Serum levels of S100A12 reflect neutrophil activation during synovial inflammation. The aim of this project was to analyse the effect of intra-articular corticosteroids or systemic anti-TNF treatment on synovial expression and serum levels of S100A12 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Distinct synovial immunopathologic characteristics of juvenile-onset spondylarthritis and other forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objective: To characterize the synovial immunopathologic features of juvenile-onset spondylarthritis (SpA) in relation to adult SpA and other forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

Methods: Synovial biopsy samples were obtained from 10 patients with juvenile-onset SpA, 23 with adult SpA, 19 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 8 with juvenile polyarthritis, and 12 with juvenile oligoarthritis. Synovial immunopathologic features were studied by extensive histologic and immunohistochemical analyses.

Diagnostic value of anti-human citrullinated fibrinogen ELISA and comparison with four other anti-citrullinated protein assays.

We studied the diagnostic performance of the anti-human citrullinated fibrinogen antibody (AhFibA) ELISA for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a consecutive cohort (population 1) and evaluated the agreement between the AhFibA ELISA and four other assays for anti-citrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPAs) as well as rheumatoid factor in patients with longstanding RA (population 2). Population 1 consisted of 1024 patients with rheumatic symptoms; serum samples from these patients were sent to our laboratory for ACPA testing within the context of a diagnostic investigation for RA. Ninety-two of these patients were classified as having RA according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria and 463 were classified as non-RA patients.