Dystocia and perinatal mortality are major animal health, welfare and economic issues in beef suckler cow production. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for dystocia and ...perinatal mortality and to analyze the relationships of both traits to external pelvic parameters in extensively kept beef suckler cows. Calving ease and calf survival were recorded for 785 births on five Angus cattle farms in Germany. The prevalence of dystocia and perinatal mortality was 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively. A hierarchical model was used to predict dystocia and perinatal mortality. First-parity dams had a higher probability of dystocia (p < 0.0001) than later-parity ones. Increasing birth weight was associated with an increasing risk for dystocia (p < 0.05). The probability of perinatal mortality (p < 0.0001) was higher in assisted births than in unassisted births. Calves from first-parity dams had a higher risk (p < 0.01) of being stillborn than calves from dams in later parities. An increase in the length of the pelvis was associated with an increase in odds for perinatal mortality (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the study indicates that dystocia and perinatal mortality are mainly problems in first-parity suckler cows. Concerning the predictive value of external pelvic parameters, further research is necessary.
Abstract Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype frequency distributions in specific populations can be applied to optimize both individual stem cell donor searches and donor registry planning. We ...present allele and haplotype frequencies derived from a data set of 8862 German stem cell donors who were typed at high resolution for the HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1 genes upon registration. Calculated haplotype frequencies were used to estimate the probability p to find matching donors subject to donor registry size n . The impact of various matching standards on p ( n ) was analyzed. When high-resolution matching for HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1 is required, p (1,000,000) is 0.678. The corresponding value for n = 7,000,000 is 0.859. In a scenario with low-resolution matching and no consideration of HLA-C, p (1,000,000) is 0.863 and thus larger than p (7,000,000) in the scenario with stricter matching requirements. As recent findings support the importance of high-resolution matching of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1 for outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, our results are highly relevant for strategic planning and resource allocation of donor centers and registries.
Endoparasites are one of the major health issues in beef suckler cows and can cause economic losses. As studies on the parasitological status of beef suckler cow herds are rare, the aim of this study ...was to evaluate the status quo of the parasite burden in herds at four representative locations in Germany. Additionally, the farmers’ pasture management and deworming strategies were documented. Based on these data, the second aim of the study was to develop recommendations for improved deworming and pasture hygiene management. A total of 708 faecal samples were examined with parasitological routine methods. Results revealed Fasciola hepatica, gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), Eimeria species (spp.), Moniezia spp. and Dictyocaulus viviparus as the most frequent findings. Clinical signs of parasitic diseases were not found during the farm visits. Statistical analyses showed a significant effect of the age status of the animal on the parasitological status in general. Due to the percentage of occurrence, detailed statistical analysis was performed for Eimeria, GIN and Fasciola hepatica, confirming the effect of age status. Assessing the parasitological status of beef suckler cows as routine procedure could help to establish an improved parasite-control management on a farm-individual basis.
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Monitors Reversible and Irreversible Myocardial Injury in Myocarditis Anja Zagrosek, Hassan Abdel-Aty, Philipp Boyé, Ralf Wassmuth, Daniel Messroghli, Wolfgang Utz, Andre ...Rudolph, Steffen Bohl, Rainer Dietz, Jeanette Schulz-Menger This study aimed to assess the value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to monitor myocarditis-related myocardial injury over the course of the disease. Thirty six patients hospitalized with acute myocarditis were studied acutely and 18 ± 10 months later. Acutely, T2 signal was elevated in 86%, global T1-signal post-contrast in 80%, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was present in 63%. At follow-up, ejection fraction increased from 56% to 62% while both T2 and global T1 decreased. LGE persisted in all but one patient. Thus, the time course of signal properties in the myocardium as assessed by CMR can differentiate acute from healed myocarditis.
In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, T1, T2 and T2* relaxation times represent characteristic tissue properties that can be quantified with the help of specific imaging strategies. While there are ...basic software tools for specific pulse sequences, until now there is no universal software program available to automate pixel-wise mapping of relaxation times from various types of images or MR systems. Such a software program would allow researchers to test and compare new imaging strategies and thus would significantly facilitate research in the area of quantitative tissue characterization.
After defining requirements for a universal MR mapping tool, a software program named MRmap was created using a high-level graphics language. Additional features include a manual registration tool for source images with motion artifacts and a tabular DICOM viewer to examine pulse sequence parameters. MRmap was successfully tested on three different computer platforms with image data from three different MR system manufacturers and five different sorts of pulse sequences: multi-image inversion recovery T1; Look-Locker/TOMROP T1; modified Look-Locker (MOLLI) T1; single-echo T2/T2*; and multi-echo T2/T2*. Computing times varied between 2 and 113 seconds. Estimates of relaxation times compared favorably to those obtained from non-automated curve fitting. Completed maps were exported in DICOM format and could be read in standard software packages used for analysis of clinical and research MR data.
MRmap is a flexible cross-platform research tool that enables accurate mapping of relaxation times from various pulse sequences. The software allows researchers to optimize quantitative MR strategies in a manufacturer-independent fashion. The program and its source code were made available as open-source software on the internet.
The authors state in their discussion that "delayed enhancement of the lateral wall of the LV within the mid-myocardium portion represents a common feature in breast-cancer patients with ...trastuzumab-induced cardiomyopathy."
Myocardial edema is a substantial feature of the inflammatory response in human myocarditis. The relation between myocardial edema and myocardial mass in the course of healing myocarditis has not ...been systematically investigated. We hypothesised that the resolution of myocardial edema as visualised by T2-weighted cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is associated with a decrease of myocardial mass in steady state free precession (SSFP)-cine imaging.
21 patients with acute myocarditis underwent CMR shortly after onset of symptoms and 1 year later. For visualization of edema, a T2-weighted breath-hold black-blood triple-inversion fast spin echo technique was applied and the ratio of signal intensity of myocardium/skeletal muscle was assessed. Left ventricular (LV) mass, volumes and function were quantified from biplane cine steady state free precession images. 11 healthy volunteers served as a control group for interstudy reproducibility of LV mass.
In patients with myocarditis, a significant decrease in LV mass was observed during follow-up compared to the acute phase (156.7 +/- 30.6 g vs. 140.3 +/- 28.3 g, p < 0.0001). The reduction of LV mass paralleled the normalization of initially increased myocardial signal intensity on T2-weighted images (2.4 +/- 0.4 vs. 1.68 +/- 0.3, p < 0.0001). In controls, the interstudy difference of LV mass was lower than in patients (5.1 +/- 2.9 g vs. 16.3 +/- 14.2 g, p = 0.02) resulting in a lower coefficient of variability (2.1 vs 8.9%, p = 0.04).
Reversible abnormalities in T2-weighted CMR are paralleled by a transient increase in left ventricular mass during the course of myocarditis. Myocardial edema may be a common pathway explaining these findings.
Aims
Low‐dose epoetin‐β improved neo‐angiogenesis and cardiac regeneration in experimental models of ischaemic cardiomyopathy without raising haemoglobin. No clinical study has tested this approach ...to date.
Methods and results
We performed a randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, single‐centre study of 35 IU/kg body weight epoetin‐β given subcutaneously once weekly for 6 months started within 3 weeks after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients were included if they presented with a lesion within the proximal segment of the left anterior descending artery, the right coronary artery, or circumflex and had symptomatic heart failure. Patients with ST‐segment elevation due to an acute myocardial infarct were excluded. The outcome variables were measured at baseline and at 6 months. Primary outcome measure was individual change in ejection fraction; secondary outcome was safety, change in N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide, and peak VO2. Twenty‐four patients completed the 6‐month treatment course. No adverse event related to the treatment occurred. Low‐dose epoetin‐β following PCI significantly improved global ejection fraction as measured by echocardiography (EPO: ΔEF 5.2 ± 2.0%, P= 0.013; placebo: ΔEF 0.3 ± 1.6%, P= 0.851; P= 0.019 for the inter‐group difference) and cardiac magnetic resonance (EPO: ΔEF 3.1 ± 1.6%, P= 0.124; placebo: −1.9 ± 1.2%, P= 0.167; P= 0.042 for the inter‐group difference). N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide levels decreased in both groups without significant inter‐group differences. Peak VO2 levels increased significantly by 3.9 ± 1.1% (P< 0.05) in the EPO group, whereas in the placebo group the increase did not reach statistical significance (Δpeak VO2 3.0 ± 1.6, P = ns). No significant difference regarding peak VO2 was observed between the EPO and placebo groups.
Conclusions
Low‐dose epoetin‐β treatment following PCI is safe and feasible, and has possible beneficial effects on global ejection fraction and measures of exercise capacity. Extended low‐dose epoetin‐β treatment warrants further mechanistic studies as well as larger clinical trials.
Clinical Trial Registration Information: NCT00568542
Abstract Background Cardiac involvement in Churg-Strauss vasculitis worsens the prognosis. Early detection is, therefore, warranted. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can visualize various forms of ...inflammatory changes in the myocardium. We tested whether CMR could elucidate cardiac damage in patients with biopsy-proven Churg-Strauss syndrome and clinical evidence of cardiac involvement. Methods and Results Eleven patients underwent a CMR protocol including cine imaging for left ventricular function in long axes, T2-weighted imaging for edema detection, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighting for early and late gadolinium enhancement. CMR detected various form of myocardial injury in all patients. Systolic left ventricular function was impaired in 6 patients. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 45 ± 15%. Left ventricular size was mildly enlarged (left ventricular end-diastolic volume index 94 ± 23 mL/m2 ). Edema was present in 4 cases; 7 patients had pericardial effusion. Six patients had increased early contrast uptake. CMR detected late enhancement lesions in 9 of 11 patients, even in those with normal left ventricular size and function. Conclusions CMR has the potential to detect myocardial injury in Churg-Strauss syndrome even when left ventricular function appears normal.
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