Alterations in carbohydrate metabolism in dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies.

Objective: To determine whether alterations in carbohydrate metabolism exist in dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies but without evidence of weight loss or cachexia.

Animals: 90 dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies and 18 control dogs.

Procedure: An intravenous glucose tolerance test was done in 90 dogs with previously untreated nonhematopoietic malignancies and in 18 clinically normal dogs.

Current and future issues in assisted reproduction.

The last quarter of the twentieth century has given rise to reproductive technologies and arrangements that in the earlier part of the century could only be dreamed of by the authors of science fiction. We stand in the middle of this reproductive revolution, trying to cope with the developments that have already occurred but with an uneasy sense that the future may be even more complicated ethically than the past and the present. In this brief essay, I will survey recent ethical and public-policy discussions of two reproductive techniques (assisted insemination and in vitro fertilization) and one reproductive arrangement (surrogate motherhood).

Resting energy expenditure in dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies before and after excision of tumors.

Objective: To determine whether apparently resting dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies have increased resting energy expenditure (REE), compared with clinically normal dogs.

Animals: 46 client-owned dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies and 30 client-owned dogs that were clinically normal.

Procedure: Apparently resting, client-owned dogs with nonhematopoietic malignancies before (n = 46) and 4 to 6 weeks after (n = 30) surgical removal of tumors were compared with apparently resting, clinically normal, client owned dogs (n = 30).

Formulary and funding implications of the gap between the national Essential Drugs List and current prescribing in a large health maintenance organisation.

Background: The Department of Health has prepared an Essential Drugs List (EDL) for public sector implementation in 1996 and future extension to the private sector. Stakeholders have been consulted to ensure that the EDL achieves its objectives of safety, efficacy and quality at the lowest possible cost, while providing coverage for 90-95% of the common and important conditions in the country. This study was undertaken to gain insight into the current use of EDL products by 200 general practitioners (GPs) servicing a large health maintenance organisation (HMO).

Analysis of paediatric prescribing profiles in two health-funding systems.

Objective: To investigate the adequacy of two large South African medical administrative databases in providing prescribing profiles for paediatricians and general practitioners (GPs) respectively.

Design: Statistical analysis of data captured during 1994. Data were analysed retrospectively with frequency analysis and non-parametric tests.

Peritrophic envelopes of Lutzomyia spinicrassa (Diptera: Psychodidae).

The secretion, morphology, and chemical composition of the peritrophic envelope were studied in the phlebotomine sand fly, Lutzomyia spinicrassa Morales, OsornoMesa, Osorno & Hoyos, a suspected vector of Leishmania braziliensis in Colombia and Venezuela. Viewed under light microscopy, the envelope matured rapidly and could be dissected from the blood bolus as early as 12 h and until 36 h after feeding; subsequently it began to degrade. The envelope was initially a closed sac around the blood meal, but opened posteriorly in most flies by 6 h.

Pharmaco-economic assessment of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Objective: To perform a comparative pharmaco-economic assessment of two HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Design: A cost-effectiveness analysis was employed using comparative efficacy data from selected clinical trials. A comprehensive international literature search formed the basis for this selection.

Histologic detection of multiple blood meals in Phlebotomus duboscqi (Diptera: Psychodidae).

A histologic technique was used to detect multiple hamster blood meals taken by Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire during a 5-d period. Forty-eight flies were fed two or three blood meals separated by 48, 72, or 120 h and sampled immediately; multiple meals were detected in 27 flies (56%). Double meals separated by 72 h within a single gonotrophic cycle were documented in 11/19 (58%) flies; double meals separated by 120 h were detected in only 4/17 (24%) flies.

Toxicoses associated with the administration of mitoxantrone to dogs with malignant tumors: a dose escalation study.

Forty-four dogs with histologically confirmed malignant tumors were used in a prospective study to determine the toxicity of the chemotherapeutic agent mitoxantrone, when administered at dosages higher than what has been previously reported for use in dogs. After each dose was administered, dogs were evaluated for signs of toxicosis for 3 weeks or until the dog developed progressive disease, died, or was euthanatized. Forty dogs had been refractory to 1 or more treatment modalities (surgery, n = 26; chemotherapy other than mitoxantrone, n = 17; radiation, n = 2) prior to entering this study.

Aspects of roaccutane prescription in South Africa.

A nationwide postmarketing surveillance study on the use and outcomes of use of isotretinoin has been conducted in South Africa. A representative sample of prescribers of the drug was identified from drug utilisation data and the overall doctor response rate was 90.1%.

Quality control of bone densitometry in a national health survey (NHANES III) using three mobile examination centers.

A quality control (QC) program for bone mineral measurements at the proximal femur by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was designed for the osteoporosis component of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Major elements of the QC program are (1) a QC center for review of all scans, (2) setup procedures for and continuous monitoring of daily QC procedures, (3) reference standards for cross-calibration, (4) longitudinal studies for assessment of instrument stability, (5) monitoring of technologist performance, and (6) training. This report describes the results of the QC program of the first half of this 6 year study, which began in 1988.

Alterations in lipoprotein profiles in dogs with lymphoma.

After a 12-hour fast, blood samples were obtained from 31 dogs with previously untreated lymphoma. Blood samples were also collected from 16 of these dogs after up to 5 treatments with doxorubicin (30 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks). All 16 dogs underwent complete remission.

Repeatability of energy expenditure measurements in clinically normal dogs by use of indirect calorimetry.

Energy expenditure (EE) was determined, using an open-flow indirect calorimetry system in a group of 20 clinically normal, apparently resting, client-owned dogs. Five evaluations were performed over an 8-hour period to determine reliability of the method. The intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated as the ratio of within- and between-subject variances, using repeated-measures ANOVA.

Purified methoxychlor stimulates the reproductive tract in immature female mice.

Methoxychlor is an estrogenic pesticide currently used as a substitute for DDT. The estrogenic effects of 98% pure methoxychlor or base-washed pure methoxychlor were examined on reproductive organs of immature mice and compared to control and estradiol-treated mice. Within 24 hours of birth, neonatal mice received 14 daily intraperitoneal injections of one of the following chemicals: sesame oil only, 10.

Germ-line gene modification and disease prevention: some medical and ethical perspectives.

There has been considerable debate about the ethics of human germ-line gene modification. As a result of recent advances in the micromanipulation of embryos and the laboratory development of transgenic mice, a lively discussion has begun concerning both the technical feasibility and the ethical acceptability of human germ-line modification for the prevention of serious disease. This article summarizes some of the recent research on germ-line gene modification in animal models.

Concentration of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in dogs with malignant neoplasia.

Serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1AG) concentrations were determined in 55 dogs with previously untreated, histologically confirmed, high-grade lymphoblastic lymphoma, and in 34 dogs with histologically confirmed nonhematopoietic malignancies (13 dogs with carcinomas and 21 dogs with sarcomas). Serum concentrations were again determined in 32 dogs with lymphoma that were in complete remission 3 weeks after 1 dose of doxorubicin (30 mg/m2 of body surface, i.v.

Life cycle of Leishmania major (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in the neotropical sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae).

The development of Leishmania major Yakimoff & Schokhor in the New World sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) was examined by light and electron microscopy. In this unnatural host, parasites differentiated into 10 typical morphological forms, multiplied at three sites, migrated anteriorly and established in the foregut, and attached to gut surfaces. In the blood meal, amastigotes divided and transformed into two successive dividing, stumpy promastigote stages.

Prevalence of nephrotoxicosis associated with a four-hour saline solution diuresis protocol for the administration of cisplatin to dogs with naturally developing neoplasms.

We evaluated the development of nephrotoxicosis in 64 dogs with malignant neoplasia given cisplatin during 4-hour saline solution diuresis. Cisplatin (70 mg/m2 of body surface area, IV, q 21 d) was given to 8 dogs once, 22 dogs twice, 9 dogs 3 times, and 25 dogs 4 times. For each treatment, cisplatin was given over a 20-minute period after saline (0.

Xylosylation is an endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi event.

The subcellular site of xylosylation, the first carbohydrate modification of the core protein that initiates glycosaminoglycan chain synthesis, was characterized in situ. Methods were developed to combine electron microscopic (EM) autoradiography and the radiolabeling of semi-intact chondrocytes. In the accompanying paper, Kearns et al.