Ultrasonography, as a non-invasive diagnostic tool, can provide valuable information about the type, nature and duration of certain musculoskeletal inflammatory processes in animals. The aim of this ...study was to investigate the correlation between mean echogenicity (ME) of effusion content and its laboratory finding values. Fifty dairy cows with superficial effusions on their legs were examined in this study. Ultrasound images were analysed by software processing and ME was determined for every case of effusion. Samples of effusion contents were collected and sent to the laboratory. Investigated parameters were: Concentration of total proteins, concentration of glucose, concentration of uric acid, number of leukocytes, percentage of neutrophils, number of erythrocytes, specific weight, viscosity, colour, clarity and Gram stain. High correlation values between ME and concentration of total proteins (R2=0.7313; P<0.001), concentration of uric acid (R2=0.7427; P<0.001), percentage of neutrophils (R2=0.6923; P<0.001) and specific weight (R2=0.6963; P<0.001) showed that these laboratory parameters could have some impact on echogenicity of effusion content.
The efficacy of osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1; BMP-7) in regeneration of articular cartilage was examined by creating knee chondral defects in sheep. With a specially designed instrument in both knees, ...two 10 mm (diameter) chondral defects were created: one in the trochlea and the other on the femoral condyle. The recombinant BMP was delivered via an extra-articulary positioned mini-osmotic pump, which was fixed to the femoral diaphysis above the knee joint, and connected by a polyethylene tubing to the articular space. Prior to use, the compatibility of OP-1 with mini-osmotic pumps was tested in vitro by measuring aggregation/precipitation and modification of the released protein by size exclusion and reversed phase HPLC. The average amount of aggregation was 15% and about 5% of OP-1 was modified. However, the biological activity of OP-1 released from pumps over a period of 2 weeks at 37°C was equal to ROS cell assay OP-1 standard. Following surgery, a total of 55 μg (low dose) or 170 μg (high dose) OP-1 in acetate buffer (pH 4.5) was slowly released from the pump over a period of 2 weeks. The pumps connected to control knees were filled with acetate buffer as a vehicle. Twelve animals were operated, six of which were treated with the low OP-1 dose, and six with the high OP-1 dose. Three sheep of each group were killed either at 3 or 6 months following surgery, based on arthroscopical evaluation. The chondral defects in the control knees remained empty during the observation period. At 3 months following surgery, defects treated with both OP-1 doses were filled with connective tissue and cartilage. At 6 months following surgery, both doses of OP-1 stimulated regeneration in treated knees. The boundaries between new and old cartilage were well fused and mechanically resisted animals' weight bearing. The regenerated cartilage was rich in proteoglycans and type II collagen, as demonstrated by toluidine blue staining and immunohistochemistry. No signs of endochondral bone formation above the bony tidemark were observed. We suggest that a recombinant bone morphogenetic protein stimulates ingrowth of mesenchymal cells into the chondral defects which then transform into newly formed articular cartilage-like tissue.
The study was undertaken to examine the effects of castration on plasma lipids and on the fatty acid profile of abdominal fat in male pheasants. Thirty pheasants reared in a commercial pheasantry ...were included in the experiment. Half the pheasants were castrated at 8 weeks of age and the other half underwent sham surgery at the same age. Plasma levels of triglycerides and high density lipoproteins (HDL) were significantly higher in the castrated pheasants. Values for cholesterol tended to be higher in castrated pheasants although without statistical significance. The fatty acid content of the abdominal fat from castrated and intact pheasants were primarily composed of oleic acid (42.58%-40.33%), followed by palmitic acid (25.25%-27.33%), linoleic (14.05%-12.65%) and stearic acid (8.95%-9.40%). Castration also significantly influenced the fatty acid composition of abdominal fat. Compared to the intact pheasants, the fatty acid content of abdominal fat from castrated pheasants contained higher values for saturated fatty acids (SFA) and lower values for unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), unsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratio (UFA/SFA) and polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratio (PUFA/SFA).
Rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) remains the most common canine orthopaedic problem seen in clinical practice. The present paper describes a population of 117 dogs with CCL rupture ...diagnosed by clinical examination followed by mini-arthrotomy. The dogs were treated from January 2010 to February 2015 at the Clinic for Surgery, Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia, by the same surgeon. The age, breed, gender and reproductive profile were analysed in relation to CCL rupture occurrence during the study and were discussed in relationship to previous published reports. Of the 117 dogs, 29.0% were mixed breed dogs and 13.7% Labrador Retrievers as the most common. Males and females were equally affected. Bilateral rupture occurred in 5.85% cases, mostly in mixed breed females. Medial meniscal tear was observed in 22.2% of cases with mini-arthrotomy and probing. The average age of the small breed dogs was 8.3 years, and of the large breed dogs 4.2 years. Dogs aged 5 years and older had 2.5 times the likelihood of suffering from CCL rupture compared with dogs aged under 5 years (P<0.01). Key words: cranial cruciate ligament, rupture, breed, age, gender, meniscal tear, dog
Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is the most important cytokine in the inflammation cascade activation in all tissues and is present in acute and chronic phases of inflammation. By blocking IL-1 binding to ...target cells, numerous inflammation processes are prevented. The use of autologous conditioned serum rich with IL-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-1Ra) is a novel treatment method of tendon inflammation in domestic animals and humans. Injections of autologous conditioned serum (ACS) have demonstrated clinical efficacy and safety in animal models and humans in the treatment of osteoarthritis, disc prolapse and muscles and tendons injuries with low side effect. Neutropaenia, reduced white blood cell count, and infections or local irritations are described as side effects of IL-1 antagonist use in humans. Therefore, a study of blood changes in rabbits after local administration of IL-1Ra in the Achilles tendon tissue after iatrogenic inflammation was conducted. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein was used to prevent and reduce tendon inflammation after longitudinal tenotomy. The study was done on 26 white Californian rabbits, divided into two equal groups consisting of 13 animals each; the experimental interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (irap) group, and the control group. In the irap group, autologous serum rich with IL-1Ra was used (Orthokine
®
vet irap, Alfa-Arthro, Croatia). Differences between two groups were considered significant as changes in the blood for certain blood elements at
P
< 0.01. The
P
value was
P
= 0.0153 for the white blood cells,
P
= 0.00153 for neutrophils,
P
= 0.00017 and for platelets. In the control group, an increased platelet count was noticed in 70% of blood samples and a decreased neutrophil count was found in all of the irap group samples at the end of the study in comparison to the initial blood count prior to application.
Peritoneopericardial hernia is a malformation which allows the protrusion of abdominal organs into the pericardial sac. Several methods of herniorrhaphy had been described in human and veterinary ...medicine, such as the usage of prosthetic patches, allografts and autologous grafts. The purpose of this study was to describe a new technique of herniorrhaphy, which combines two different materials for defect closure (nonautologous-polypropylene mesh and autologous-pericardial flap) in a case of recurrent peritoneopericardial hernia in a dog. A two-year-old, intact female Rhodesian Ridgeback was presented with an eight week history of respiratory problems, occasional coughing, vomiting, lethargy, body mass loss and icteric mucous membrane. The reason for using this technique was tension at hernial ring, which could have caused recurrence of the peritoneopericardial hernia. Polypropylene mesh was used in order to reinforce the herniorrhaphy and an autologous flap served as a barrier against mesh exposure to the epicardial surface. In our opinion, this method is safe with no complications observed, so therefore, it could be a suitable method for peritoneopericardial reherniation repair. Key words: dog; mesh; peritoneopericardial hernia; pericardial flap; repair
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