Lumbar spinal cord microglia exhibited increased activation in aging dogs compared with young adult dogs.

Altered microglia function contributes to loss of CNS homeostasis during aging in the brain. Few studies have evaluated age-related alterations in spinal cord microglia. We previously demonstrated that lumbar spinal cord microglial expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was equivalent between aging, neurologically normal dogs and dogs with canine degenerative myelopathy (Toedebusch et al.

Preclinical imaging and treatment of cancer: the use of animal models beyond rodents.

The development of novel radiopharmaceutical agents for imaging and therapy of neoplastic diseases relies on accurate and reproducible animal models. Rodent models are often used to demonstrate the proof-of-principle tracer and therapeutic agent development, but their small size can make tissue sampling challenging. The dosimetry of decay emissions in the much smaller rodent tumors do not model dosimetry in human tumors well.

Control of FSH, follicular development and estrus synchronization in the mare with steroid-free follicular fluid.

Twenty-two pony mares were used in a project designed to determine the effectiveness of different treatments in controlling FSH, follicular development and synchronization of estrus and ovulation. Mares in Group 1 (n=8) received daily oral altrenogest (0.044 mg/kg); those in Group 2 (n=7) received daily altrenogest (0.

Diagnosis of luteal and follicular ovarian cysts in dairy cows by sector scan ultrasonography.

Sixty-seven ultrasonograms of ovarian cysts (cysts) from 35 cows were used to evaluate sector scan ultrasonography as a means for differentiating luteal cysts from follicular cysts. Initial diagnosis of cysts was made by ovarian palpation per rectum during weekly herd visits. The ovaries of each cow were then examined by ultrasonography.

The use of heat detection aids in estrus synchronization programs.

The use of tailhead paste and chin-ball markers for estrus detection in beef cows following estrus synchronization was evaluated. The estrous cycles of 85 cows were synchronized with a prostaglandin analogue in a two-injection program. At the time of the second injection, each cow's tailhead was painted with an estrus detection paste and the cows were placed in pastures with four intact bulls with chin-ball markers.

Luteinizing hormone response to estradiol benzoate in cows postpartum and cows with ovarian cysts.

Twenty-seven dairy cows were evenly assigned to one of three groups and given an intramuscular injection of 2 mg estradiol benzoate. Cows in group 1 were greater than 30 days postpartum at treatment and had been diagnosed via rectal palpation to have ovarian cysts. Cows in groups 2 and 3 were 12 to 14 and 30 to 40 days postpartum, respectively.

Reproductive hormones associated with the ovarian cyst response to GnRH.

Eighteen cows with ovarian cysts were administered 100 mug of GnRH and bled prior to treatment, at half hour intervals for 4 hours posttreatment and on days 1, 5 and 9 posttreatment. Blood plasma was analyzed for estradiol-17beta, progesterone and LH by radioimmunoassay. Response to treatment was recorded as positive if ovulation was detected within 30 days posttreatment.