Effects of Breed, Exercise, and a Two-Month Training Period on NT-proBNP-Levels in Athletic Dogs.

N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) is a cardiac biomarker used to detect myocardial wall stress. Physical activity and cardiac disease can affect serum NTproBNP concentrations. In people, different types of physical activity have different effects on NTproBNP.

Reversible facial nerve paralysis in a cat suspected to be associated with systemic hypertension.

Case Summary: This report describes the appearance of facial nerve paralysis in a 16-year-old hypertensive cat. MRI was helpful in visualising and characterising mesencephalic and facial nerve lesions thought to be induced by hypertension. Neurological signs rapidly resolved under antihypertensive therapy.

Recommendations for standardized plane definition in canine cardiac MRI.

With the growing interest in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), veterinary radiologists will increasingly be asked to use this modality to answer complex cardiological questions. Plane alignment is crucial for reproducible assessment of the heart. Anesthesia time is a limiting factor in cMRI.

Case report - azygos vein drainage into the left atrium in a dog with cor triatriatum dexter and a patent foramen ovale.

A 2-year-old Airedale terrier was presented with exercise intolerance since birth and newly developed chylous pleural effusion. Imaging procedures including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and selective angiography revealed an aberrant connection of the azygos vein and the left atrium, a membrane in the right atrium consistent with cor triatriatum dexter, and a patent foramen ovale with right-to-left shunt. Balloon dilation of the membrane in the right atrium seemed to result in transient improvement of exercise tolerance compared with the previous 2 years.

Variability among strain variables derived from two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in dogs by use of various software.

Objective: To determine variability of global longitudinal strain (GLS) and strain rate (SR) measurements in dogs with and without cardiac disease derived from 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) by use of various software.

Animals: 2 cohorts comprising 44 dogs (23 cardiovascularly healthy and 21 with cardiac disease) and 40 dogs (18 cardiovascularly healthy and 22 with cardiac disease).

Procedures: Transthoracic echocardiographic images in each cohort were analyzed with vendor-independent software and vendor-specific 2-D STE software for each of 2 vendors.

Efficacy of long-term oral telmisartan treatment in cats with hypertension: Results of a prospective European clinical trial.

Background: Efficacy of telmisartan in treating hypertension (HT) in cats has not been largely investigated.

Objective: Telmisartan oral solution effectively controls systolic arterial blood pressure (SABP) in hypertensive cats.

Animals: Two-hundred eighty-five client-owned cats with systemic HT.

Comparison of left and right ventricular stroke volume of dogs calculated on the basis of morphology and blood flow determined by use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE To compare stroke volume (SV) calculated on the basis of cardiac morphology determined by MRI and results of phase-contrast angiography (PCA) of ventricular inflow and outflow in dogs. ANIMALS 10 healthy Beagles. PROCEDURES Cardiac MRI was performed twice on each Beagle.

Clinical, serological and echocardiographic examination of healthy field dogs before and after vaccination with a commercial tetravalent leptospirosis vaccine.

Background: Leptospirosis is a re-emerging bacterial zoonosis caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Severe disease has been reported in dogs in Europe despite vaccination with bivalent Leptospira vaccines. Recently, a tetravalent canine Leptospira vaccine (Nobivac® L4) was licenced in Europe.

Thoracic computed tomography, angiographic computed tomography, and pathology findings in six cats experimentally infected with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus.

Aelurostrongylus abstrusus infection is common in endemic areas and may cause severe respiratory clinical signs. Computed tomography (CT) is an important tool to diagnose pulmonary disease, because it allows detection of small lesions and discrimination of superimposed structures. The purpose of this study was to characterize by CT and angiographic CT the pulmonary lesions in six cats before, and 48 and 81 days after inoculation with 100 or 800 A.

Effect of twice-daily oral administration of hydrocortisone on the bile acids composition of gallbladder bile in dogs.

Objective: To investigate the effects of twice-daily oral administration of hydrocortisone on the bile acids composition of gallbladder bile in dogs.

Animals: 6 placebo-treated control dogs and 6 hydrocortisone-treated dogs.

Procedures: Dogs received hydrocortisone (median dose, 8.

Thoracic computed tomography findings in dogs experimentally infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum.

To characterize the computed tomography (CT) features of thoracic lesions caused by infection with Angiostrongylus vasorum, pre- and postcontrast CT was performed in six experimentally infected Beagles 13 weeks postinoculation and in four of these 9 weeks postchemotherapy. Findings were compared with survey radiographs and necropsy findings. A multicentric bronchoalveolar pattern more pronounced at the lung periphery was present radiographically.

Protocol for measuring myocardial blood flow by PET/CT in cats.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to establish a protocol for measuring myocardial blood flow (MBF) by PET/CT in healthy cats. The rationale was its future use in Maine Coon cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) as a model for human HCM.

Methods: MBF was measured in nine anaesthetized healthy cats using a PET/CT scanner and (13)NH(3) at rest and during adenosine infusion.

Evaluation of the presence of selected viral and bacterial nucleic acids in pericardial samples from dogs with or without idiopathic pericardial effusion.

Many viruses have been identified in pericardial fluid and in tissue samples from humans with pericarditis by means of molecular diagnostics. In canine idiopathic pericardial effusion there is as yet no conclusive evidence to support the involvement of an infectious agent. This study was designed to investigate a possible relationship between idiopathic pericardial effusion in dogs and viruses most commonly encountered in humans affected with viral pericarditis.

Analytical validation of commercial immunoassays for the measurement of cardiovascular peptides in the dog.

Immunoassays for the measurement of concentrations of the cardiovascular peptides pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (proANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNPPen and BNPPhoe), endothelin-1 (ET-1Bio, ET-1IBL and ET-1Phoe) and big endothelin-1 (Big-ETBio and Big-ETIBL) were validated in canine serum by determination of intra-assay variability and dilutional parallelism. Commercial kits that showed good results were further validated by determination of intra- and inter-assay variability, dilutional parallelism and spiking recovery. Assays for proANP, BNPPhoe, ET-1IBL and Big-ETIBL showed acceptable results in the preliminary validation and were fully validated.

Urinary catecholamine and metanephrine to creatinine ratios in healthy dogs at home and in a hospital environment and in 2 dogs with pheochromocytoma.

Background: Measurement of high concentrations of urine catecholamines and metanephrines is useful in diagnosing pheochromocytoma in humans. Stress increases catecholamine excretion in urine.

Hypothesis: Stress of a hospital visit increases urinary catecholamine and metanephrine excretion in dogs.

Immune-mediated erythroid and megakaryocytic aplasia in a cat.

Case Description: A 6-month-old domestic shorthair cat was evaluated because of acute lethargy.

Clinical Findings: Severe nonregenerative anemia and thrombocytopenia were identified. Cytologic examination of a bone marrow aspirate revealed selective erythroid and mega-karyocytic aplasia and a high number of apparently normal small lymphocytes.

Pansteatitis and severe hypocalcaemia in a cat.

A 13-year-old Siamese cat was presented for investigation of lethargy and progressive abdominal enlargement. Serum chemistry revealed severe reduction of total and ionised serum calcium. The omentum appeared hyperechoic with scattered hypoechoic foci on abdominal ultrasound examination.

High altitude training of dogs results in elevated erythropoietin and endothelin-1 serum levels.

Living at 2300-m altitude combined with intermittent training at 3500 m leads to cardiovascular alterations in dogs, including increase in systemic and pulmonary artery pressure. Despite moderate to marked hypoxemia at these altitudes, erythrocytosis does not develop. To study humoral mechanisms of acclimatisation to high altitude, erythropoietin (EPO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), big endothelin (Big-ET) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured in dogs living at 2300 m and intermittently ascending to 3500 m, and compared to the values obtained in control dogs living at 700-900 m.

Echocardiographic changes induced by moderate to marked hypobaric hypoxia in dogs.

Hypobaric (high-altitude) hypoxia is a physiologic cause of pulmonary hypertension, and alters left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. In the presence of tricuspid regurgitation, systolic pulmonary artery pressure can be measured noninvasively using the peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity and the Bernoulli equation. In the absence of measurable tricuspid regurgitation, severity of pulmonary hypertension may be estimated using two-dimensional, M-mode, and Doppler-derived parameters.

Evaluation of an electrolyte analyzer for measurement of ionized calcium and magnesium concentrations in blood, plasma, and serum of dogs.

Objective: To evaluate an electrolyte analyzer for measurement of ionized calcium (Ca(i)) and magnesium (Mg(i)) concentrations in blood, plasma, and serum; investigate the effect of various factors on measured values; and establish reference ranges for Ca(i) and Mg(i) in dogs.

Animals: 30 healthy adult dogs of various breeds.

Procedure: Precision in a measurement series, day-to-day precision, and linearity were used to evaluate the analyzer.

Fungal rhinitis and sinusitis in three cats.

Localized infection of the nasal or paranasal cavities caused by Aspergillus spp or Penicillium spp was diagnosed in 3 cats. Clinical signs included chronic mucopurulent nasal discharge, epistaxis, and mandibular lymphadenopathy. Rhinoscopic and diagnostic imaging findings were compatible with severe inflammation of the nasal mucosa and destruction of the turbinates.

Accuracy of heart rate obtained by auscultation in atrial fibrillation.

The accuracy of heart rate estimation by cardiac auscultation over a 15-second period, and the influence of clinical experience on accuracy were evaluated in a dog with chronic atrial fibrillation by test subjects of varying experience. Only 30% of all test subjects provided accurate heart rate estimates. Board-certified specialists, medicine residents, and experienced nurses were significantly more accurate in their estimates than surgery residents and students.