Valérie Bavegems

Morphometric dimensions of the caudal cervical vertebral column in clinically normal Doberman Pinschers, English Foxhounds and Doberman Pinschers with clinical signs of disk-associated cervical spondylomyelopathy

Client-owned, clinically normal Doberman Pinschers (n=20), English Foxhounds (n=17), and Doberman Pinschers with clinical signs of disk-associated cervical spondylomyelopathy (DA-CSM) (n=17) were prospectively studied. All dogs underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical vertebral column. To evaluate vertebral canal stenosis, the canal occupying ratios of the spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-column were calculated from C5 to C7. To evaluate the degree of spinal cord compression and the amount of canal compromise, the compression ratio, remaining spinal cord and CSF-column area, and vertebral canal and dorsoventral vertebral canal compromise ratios were calculated at the site of most severe compression. For each canal occupying ratio, there was a significant higher value (implicating less space available for the spinal cord in the vertebral canal) at the level of C7 for clinically affected Doberman Pinschers compared with clinically normal English Foxhounds. The remaining spinal cord area was significantly smaller in dogs with clinically relevant spinal cord compression compared to dogs with clinically irrelevant spinal cord compression. Relative stenosis of the caudal cervical vertebral canal occurred more often in Doberman Pinschers with DA-CSM compared to English Foxhounds and a critical degree of spinal cord compression should be reached to result in clinical signs.

Prospective evaluation of healthy Ragdoll cats for chronic kidney disease by routine laboratory parameters and ultrasonography

Ragdoll breeder organisations often forewarn Ragdoll cat owners that renal problems may develop as a result of polycystic kidney disease (PKD), chronic interstitial nephritis, familial renal dysplasia or nephrocalcinosis. Healthy Ragdoll and non-Ragdoll cats were prospectively evaluated by measuring serum creatinine and urea concentrations, routine urinalysis and abdominal ultrasonography. All Ragdoll cats also underwent genetic PKD testing. One hundred and thirty-three Ragdoll and 62 control cats were included. Ragdoll cats had significantly lower serum urea concentrations and higher urinary specific gravity. However, median creatinine concentration, median urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio, and the proportion of cats with serum creatinine or urea concentration exceeding the reference interval did not differ. One or more renal ultrasonographical changes were detected in 66/133 (49.6%) Ragdoll and in 25/62 (40%) control cats. Ragdoll cats showed significantly more frequent segmental cortical lesions (7.5% versus 0%), abnormal renal capsule (19.5% versus 8%) and echogenic urine (51.9% versus 25.8%). Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was ultrasonographically suspected in 7/133 (5.3%) Ragdoll and in none of the control cats, which approached significance. Laboratory parameters confirmed kidney dysfunction only in 1/7 of these Ragdoll cats. All Ragdoll cats were PKD negative. In conclusion, first, breed-specific serum creatinine reference intervals are not likely required for Ragdoll cats. Second, renal ultrasonographical abnormalities are common, both in Ragdoll and non-Ragdoll cats. Third, healthy young Ragdoll cats are uncommonly affected by PKD and CKD, but an increased susceptibility of Ragdoll cats to develop CKD cannot be excluded. Finally, Ragdoll cats are predisposed to segmental cortical lesions, which may indicate renal infarction or cortical scarring.

Detection of innocent systolic murmurs by auscultation and their relation to hematologic and echocardiographic findings in clinically normal Whippets.

OBJECTIVE To determine murmur prevalence by auscultation of 105 apparently healthy Whippets without signs of cardiac disease, to determine the origin of these murmurs, and to evaluate the influence of sex, type of pedigree (ie, bred for showing or racing), and training on these murmurs. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS 105 client-owned Whippets. PROCEDURES All dogs were auscultated by the first author and underwent a complete physical and cardiological examination, together with a hematologic assessment. Several RBC variables and echocardiographic variables were compared between dogs with or without a murmur at the level of the aortic valve. RESULTS 44 of 105 (41.9%) dogs had no murmur. A soft systolic murmur was present with point of maximal intensity at the level of the aortic valve in 50 (47.6%) dogs, at the level of the pulmonic valve in 8 (7.6%) dogs, and at the level of the mitral valve in 3 (2.9%) dogs. No significant differences were found in heart rate, rhythm, murmur presence, point of maximal intensity, and murmur grade between males and females, between dogs with race- and show-type pedigrees, or between dogs in training and not in training. Dogs with a murmur at the level of the aortic valve had a significantly higher aortic and pulmonic blood flow velocity and cardiac output, compared with dogs without a murmur. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Whippets have a high prevalence of soft systolic murmurs in the absence of any structural abnormalities, which fit the description of innocent murmurs. No influence of sex, pedigree type, or training was found on the occurrence of these murmurs in Whippets.

Screening of ragdoll cats for kidney disease: a retrospective evaluation.

OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of renal abnormalities in ragdoll cats. Ragdoll breeders often warn clients to watch for future renal problems, mainly due to chronic interstitial nephritis and polycystic kidney disease. Therefore, ragdoll screening by abdominal ultrasonography, measurement of serum creatinine and urea concentrations and genetic testing is often performed without documented scientific evidence of increased risk of renal disease. METHODS Retrospective evaluation of ragdoll screening for renal disease at one institution over an eight-year period. RESULTS Renal ultrasonography was performed in 244 healthy ragdoll cats. Seven cats were positive for polycystic kidney disease, 21 were suspected to have chronic kidney disease, 8 had abnormalities of unknown significance and 2 cats had only one visible kidney. Cats suspected to have chronic kidney disease were significantly older and had significantly higher serum urea and creatinine concentrations than cats with normal renal ultrasonography. All 125 genetically tested cats were negative for polycystic kidney disease. However, only one of the seven ultrasonographically positive cats underwent genetic testing for polycystic kidney disease. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Ultrasonographic findings compatible with chronic kidney disease were observed in almost 10% of cats, and polycystic kidney disease occurred at a low prevalence (<3%) in this ragdoll population. Further studies are required to elucidate if ragdoll cats are predisposed to chronic kidney disease.

Inspiratory stridor secondary to palatolingual myokymia in a Maltese dog

A nine-year-old male Maltese dog was presented with an eight-month history of inspiratory stridor leading to exertional dyspnoea and cyanosis. Myokymic contractions in the palatolingual muscles were noticed and confirmed by electromyography. Brain computer tomography-scan showed ventricular dilatation. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed a slightly elevated protein level. Treatment with slow-release phenytoin was unsuccessful and symptoms gradually worsened over the next nine months. At post-mortem examination a small pituitary adenoma was found. Apart from a single canine report of facial myokymia, this is the only other description of spontaneous focal myokymia in animals. Palatolingual myokymia has only been reported in one human being. Although the co-occurrence with a pituitary adenoma might be incidental, a paraneoplastic pathogenetic mechanism is proposed. Its unique clinical presentation adds a new, albeit uncommon, syndrome to the differential diagnosis of upper airway complaints in dogs.

Electrocardiographic reference values in whippets

The aim of this study was to determine the electrocardiographic characteristics of whippets and to compare the results with published reference values for a general dog population. Electrocardiographic parameters from 105 healthy whippets were used to establish reference values for the breed. The most important differences compared to published reference values were the higher median R-wave amplitudes in leads II, CV(6)LL and CV(6)LU. For some parameters (P-wave amplitude, ST-segment deflection and T-wave amplitude in lead II; R-wave amplitude in CV(5)RL), a marked percentage of the whippet values were above the published maximum reference data. The results confirmed that whippets have electrocardiographic characteristics similar to those reported in athletic heart syndrome in humans. Some of these characteristics could be erroneously taken as evidence of cardiac disease and clinicians should be aware of these factors to prevent unnecessary investigations in healthy dogs.

Morphometric dimensions of the caudal cervical region in doberman pinschers with clinical signs of disk associated wobbler syndrome (DAWS), clinically normal doberman pinschers, and clinically normal foxhounds

1 CYTOKINEANDMATRIXMETALLOPROTEINASEEXPRESSION IN BLOOD SAMPLES OF DOGS WITH CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE. Sonja Fonfara, Simon Tew, Peter Clegg, Joanna Dukes-McEwan. Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Neston, UK. Progression of acquired cardiac diseases differs between individual dogs and breeds. Myocardial extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling is known to play an important role in the progression of cardiac diseases and pathogenesis of heart failure (CHF), with inflammation as an important co-contributor. However, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Cytokine and ECM metalloproteinase-gene expression in blood samples of dogs presented in CHF (n 5 10) and in dogs with no evidence of cardiac disease (n 5 10) were analysed. mRNA of the house-keeping gene GAPDH, interleukin (IL) 1, -2, -4, -8, -10, tumour necrosis factor a (TNF), interferon g (IFN), transforming growths factor (TGF) b1 and b2 and the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 1, 2, 3, 9 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP) 1, 2, 3, 4 was analysed using quantitative RT-PCR. Blood from dogs with CHF had increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1, -2, -8, IFN), MMP1, -3 and TIMP3, whereas TNF, IL-10, TGFb1, TIMP1 and TIMP2 were higher in dogs with no cardiac disease. These results suggest an inflammatory state and evidence of myocardial remodelling in dogs with CHF, whereas dogs without cardiac disease revealed predominance of cardio-protective anti-inflammatory cytokines and TIMPs. Interestingly, TNF, known to be important in cardiac remodelling, was increased in normal dogs (p 5 0.019). TIMP 3, a TNF inhibitor and regulator of resident fibroblasts, was significantly increased in dogs with CHF (p 5 0.049), which suggests possible cardioprotective function. ABSTRACT #2 CARDIAC TROPONIN-I CONCENTRATION IS ELEVATED PRE AND POST-PACING IN DOGS WITH BRADYARRHTHMIAS: IS MYOCARDITIS A POTENTIAL ETIOLOGY? DJ Trafny, MA Oyama, CA Reynolds, GE Singletary, C Wormser, GD Peddle. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.2 CARDIAC TROPONIN-I CONCENTRATION IS ELEVATED PRE AND POST-PACING IN DOGS WITH BRADYARRHTHMIAS: IS MYOCARDITIS A POTENTIAL ETIOLOGY? DJ Trafny, MA Oyama, CA Reynolds, GE Singletary, C Wormser, GD Peddle. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Bradyarrhythmias requiring permanent pacemaker implantation usually affect geriatric dogs and are often due to high-grade to complete atrioventricular block (AVB) or sick sinus syndrome (SSS). Degenerative change has been previously postulated as the likely cause of such arrhythmias, however, myocarditis has been implicated as a cause of AVB in dogs. Plasma cardiac troponin I concentration [cTnI] is a sensitive and specific marker for myocardial injury. We sought to quantify [cTnI] in dogs with bradyarrhythmias before and after artificial pacing and to correlate [cTnI] with ECG diagnosis, HR, echo parameters, serology, and outcome. Medical records were reviewed between 2006 and 2009, and [cTnI] before and after pacemaker implantation was available in 14 dogs. Additional parameters, including heart rate, serology, presence of premature beats, echo measurements, and pacing modality were recorded. The ECG diagnosis included complete AVB (n 5 9), SSS (n 5 3), high grade 2 degree AVB (n 5 1), and atrial standstill (n 5 1). Mean [cTnI] was elevated both preand post-pacing, and was significantly (P 5 0.037) higher pre-pacing (1.99 2.86mg/dL) versus post-pacing (0.24 0.29mg/dL). [cTnI] decreased in 13 of 14 (93%) dogs post-pacing, however, in only 5 of 14 (36%) patients did the [cTnI] return to the normal reference range. Seven of 14 (50%) dogs underwent serologic testing for vector-borne diseases, including Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neospora caninum, Rickettsia rickettsii, Toxoplasma gondii, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Bartonella spp. Two of 7 dogs (29%) yielded weak positive titers for Borrelia burgdorferi. Four of 5 dogs (80%) yielded strong serum titers for Bartonella spp. Of the 4 dogs with positive Bartonella titers, 3 had complete AVB and 1 had atrial standstill. Six dogs underwent recheck echocardiography at the time of their post-pacing cTnI sampling and of these, 4 of 6 (67%) were found to have progressive LV enlargement and myocardial failure as compared to their pre-pacing examination. The pre-pacing [cTnI] of these 4 dogs (0.36, 4.42, 3.59 and 10.66 ng/ml) were amongst the highest pre-pacing values obtained. Nine of 14 dogs (64%) had died or were euthanized at the time of abstract preparation (median time to death or euthanasia, 263 days; range, 47–1163 days). Baseline mean [cTnI] was higher in dogs that died of cardiac disease but this difference was not significant. [cTnI] is elevated in cases of symptomatic bradyarrhythmias and does not uniformly return to normal following pacemaker implantation. Myocarditis (especially from Bartonella spp.) may be an important cause of AVB andmyocarditis in dogs. Additional prospective studies investigating Bartonella spp. and other causes of myocarditis, as well as the correlation of [cTnI] to post-pacing LV dysfunction and outcome are needed. ABSTRACT #3 DIAGNOSTIC TEST PARAMETERS IN CATS WITH HEART DISEASE AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH NT-PROANP, NT-PROBNP AND TROPONIN I MEASUREMENTS. Stephen Ettinger, DVM , Kristine Yee, DVM, Andrew Beardow, BVS, Giosi Farace, PhD, Justin Allen, DVM, Kirstie Barrett, DVM. California Animal Hospital Veterinary Specialty Group, Los Angeles, Ca. 90025. Idexx Laboratories, Westbrook, ME 04092.3 DIAGNOSTIC TEST PARAMETERS IN CATS WITH HEART DISEASE AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH NT-PROANP, NT-PROBNP AND TROPONIN I MEASUREMENTS. Stephen Ettinger, DVM , Kristine Yee, DVM, Andrew Beardow, BVS, Giosi Farace, PhD, Justin Allen, DVM, Kirstie Barrett, DVM. California Animal Hospital Veterinary Specialty Group, Los Angeles, Ca. 90025. Idexx Laboratories, Westbrook, ME 04092. 421 cats (727 samples) were presented to the California Animal Hospital Veterinary Specialty Group for evaluation of cardiac or other medical problems. All received complete cardiovascular examinations including measurement of cTnI, NT-proANP and NTproBNP. No patient preselection occurred except for recruitment of normal cats of all ages for the study. All patients received a complete physical examination; laboratory analyses included CBC, blood chemistry profile, total T4 level and urinalysis. The cardiac examination included thoracic radiography, VHSmeasurement, 2D-Doppler echocardiography and ECG. Resting blood pressures were measured when the cat was cooperative. Cardiac biomarkers were obtained from plasma samples taken at the same time as other cardiac studies were completed. The aim of this study is to determine the correlation of the above markers with physical parameters such as echo-doppler. Non-parametric linear regression analysis of the biomarkers with specific echo derived measurements showed that NTproBNP has a stronger correlation with LA/Ao than Troponin I and NTproANP (0.53, p o 0.0001 vs. 0.43, p o 0.0001 and 0.42, p o 0.0001). IVS and LVPW have similar Spearmean’s r values with NTproBNP and Troponin I. The latter is interesting since it is a marker of muscle damage rather stretch. NTproANP, another marker of stretch, has a much weaker correlation with these two measurements. This would suggest that the disease processes in the cat involve muscle damage and ventricular stretch. It would also suggest that NT-proANP may not be as useful a measure of heart size change. ABSTRACT #4 EXPRESSION OF UROCORTINS IN CANINE MYOCARDIUM AND PLASMA LEVELS IN DOGS WITH CARDIAC DISEASE. G Fraga Veloso, DG Ohad, AJ Francis, JM Vaughan, DG Brownstein, GJ Culshaw, WW Vale, AT French, PM Jamieson. Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh Hospital for Small Animals, Roslin, UK. Department of Clinical Sciences, The Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA. Centre for Cardiovascular Science, The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.4 EXPRESSION OF UROCORTINS IN CANINE MYOCARDIUM AND PLASMA LEVELS IN DOGS WITH CARDIAC DISEASE. G Fraga Veloso, DG Ohad, AJ Francis, JM Vaughan, DG Brownstein, GJ Culshaw, WW Vale, AT French, PM Jamieson. Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh Hospital for Small Animals, Roslin, UK. Department of Clinical Sciences, The Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA. Centre for Cardiovascular Science, The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK. Urocortin peptides are the endogenous ligands for the corticotropin-releasing factor type 2 receptor (CRFR2). They have potentially important roles in cardiovascular physiology in health and disease, and show promise as therapeutics for congestive cardiac failure. Differences in the expression of urocortins and CRFR2 receptor subtype between rodent and human heart have been observed; however no studies have been performed in the dog. 671 2010 ACVIM Forum Abstracts