Evidence-based use of biotics in the management of gastrointestinal disorders in dogs and cats.

The gut microbiome plays a vital role in the overall health of dogs and cats, particularly their gastrointestinal (GI) health. Imbalances in the gut microbiome, termed dysbiosis, are associated with a range of GI disorders, including diarrhoea and chronic enteropathy. Emerging evidence tentatively supports the therapeutic use of pre-, pro- and postbiotics (collectively called biotics) to restore gut homeostasis and manage these conditions, especially due to their potential antibiotic-sparing effects.

Candidate circulating microRNA biomarkers in dogs with chronic pancreatitis.

Background: Pancreatitis is an important cause of disease and death in dogs. Available circulating biomarkers are not sufficiently sensitive and specific for a definitive diagnosis.

Hypothesis: Circulating microRNAs would be differentially expressed in dogs with chronic pancreatitis and could have potential as diagnostic biomarkers.

An undernutrition screening score for dogs with protein-losing enteropathy: A prospective multicenter study.

Background: The impact of undernutrition in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) caused by inflammatory enteritis, intestinal lymphangiectasia, or both and which variables are most predictive of outcome are unknown.

Objectives: Develop an undernutrition screening score (USS) for use at the time of diagnosis of PLE in dogs, which is predictive of outcome.

Animals: Fifty-seven dogs with PLE prospectively recruited from 3 referral hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Value of Probiotics in Canine and Feline Gastroenterology.

Probiotics/or synbiotics products for small animals do not fulfill the criteria required to qualify as a probiotic. Studies explaining modes of action are lacking. Outcome measures are inconsistent, with some trials assessing only nonspecific routine diagnostic parameters or fecal scores.

Prevalence and characterization of hypoadrenocorticism in dogs with signs of chronic gastrointestinal disease: A multicenter study.

Background: Dogs with hypoadrenocorticism (HA) frequently show signs of gastrointestinal disease (SGD). The prevalence of dogs presented for chronic SGD with HA is unknown.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of HA in dogs with chronic SGD and to identify clinical and laboratory variables for HA in this population.

Use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for the diagnosis of idiopathic renal hematuria in a dog.

Background: Idiopathic renal hematuria (IRH) generally occurs in healthy large-breed dogs that are <2-years-old. It is characterized by recurrent bleeding from the kidneys of unidentified cause. The final diagnosis is reached through the exclusion of primary urinary system and systemic causes of hematuria along with the direct visualization by cystoscopy of hematic urine jets at the ureteral orifice.

Effects of the neurokinin-1 antagonist maropitant on canine gastric emptying assessed by radioscintigraphy and breath test.

Objective: Delayed gastric emptying is a well-recognised phenomenon in a number of canine disease conditions. Only a limited number of drugs have been reported to have some gastrokinetic effect in the dog. The aim of this study was to investigate prokinetic effects of maropitant.

Understanding the canine intestinal microbiota and its modification by pro-, pre- and synbiotics - what is the evidence?

Interest in the composition of the intestinal microbiota and possibilities of its therapeutic modifications has soared over the last decade and more detailed knowledge specific to the canine microbiota at different mucosal sites including the gut is available. Probiotics, prebiotics or their combination (synbiotics) are a way of modifying the intestinal microbiota and exert effects on the host immune response. Probiotics are proposed to exert their beneficial effects through various pathways, for example production of antimicrobial peptides, enhancing growth of favourable endogenous microorganisms, competition for epithelial colonisation sites and immune-modulatory functions.

Effects of ex-vivo and in-vivo treatment with probiotics on the inflammasome in dogs with chronic enteropathy.

Inflammasomes coordinate the maturation of IL-1β and IL-18 in response to danger signals. They are vital for maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and have been linked to chronic intestinal inflammation in humans. Probiotics have been advocated as treatment in intestinal inflammation.

Direct comparison of solid-phase gastric emptying times assessed by means of a carbon isotope-labeled sodium acetate breath test and technetium Tc 99m albumin colloid radioscintigraphy in healthy cats.

Objective: To directly compare solid-phase gastric emptying times assessed by means of a [(13)C]sodium acetate breath test ([(13)C]-SABT) and technetium Tc 99m albumin colloid radioscintigraphy ((99m)Tc-ACR) in healthy cats.

Animals: 12 healthy cats.

Procedure: After ingestion of a test meal containing 50 mg of [(13)C]sodium acetate and 250 MBq of (99m)Tc-albumin colloid, each cat underwent simultaneous [(13)C]-SABT and (99m)Tc-ACR on 2 consecutive days.

Comparison of TNFα responses induced by Toll-like receptor ligands and probiotic Enterococcus faecium in whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy dogs.

The assessment of in vitro responses of blood-derived cells has traditionally been performed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). However, stimulation of whole blood (WB) has advantages: ease of experimental setup, avoidance of blood cell manipulation and lower assay cost and time. WB stimulation is widely used in human research, but only infrequently in small animals.

Expression of trefoil factor genes in the duodenum and colon of dogs with inflammatory bowel disease and healthy dogs.

Trefoil factors (TFF) are small peptides produced by goblet cells, which are crucial for epithelial restitution. In humans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), TFF expression is up-regulated as part of an unspecific repair mechanism. The goal of this study was to assess TFF gene expression in the gastrointestinal tract from dogs with IBD compared to healthy controls.

Gene expression of selected signature cytokines of T cell subsets in duodenal tissues of dogs with and without inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common cause of chronic diarrhoea in dogs. In people, specific cytokine patterns attributed to T cell subsets, especially T helper cell [Th]1, Th17 and regulatory T(reg) cells have emerged in IBD. In contrast, no specific involvement of a distinct T cell subset has been described so far in canine IBD.

Comparison of three rapid commercial Canine parvovirus antigen detection tests with electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction.

Different antibody-based tests for rapid detection of Canine parvovirus antigens in feces are commercially available, allowing quick diagnosis in a clinical setting. However, the diagnostic accuracy of these tests compared with standard methods has not been evaluated so far. In the current study, 3 commercial tests were compared with immune-electron microscopy (IEM) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).