ABSTRACT
The assessment of diastolic function has received great interest in order to comprehend its crucial role in the pathophysiology of heart failure and for the early identification of cardiac events. Silent changes in the intraventricular flow (IVF) dynamics occur before the deterioration of the cardiac wall, although they cannot be detected using conventional echocardiography. Collective information on left ventricular (LV) pressures throughout the cardiac cycle has great value when dealing with patients with altered hemodynamics. Accurate pressure measurement inside the ventricle can be obtained by invasive methods to determine the LV diastolic pressures, which reflect the myocardial relaxation and compliance. However, catheterization is only feasible in the laboratory setting and is not suitable for clinical use due to its disadvantages. In contrast, echocardiography is simple, safe, and accessible. Color M-mode echocardiography (CMME) is an advanced cardiac evaluation technique that can measure the intraventricular pressure differences (IVPDs) and intraventricular pressure gradients (IVPGs) based on the Doppler shift of the IVF. Recently, the assessment of IVPD and IVPG has gained growing interest in the cardiovascular literature in both animal and human studies as a non-invasive method for the early diagnosis of cardiac dysfunctions, especially diastolic ones. The usability of IVPD and IVPG has been reported in various surgically induced heart failure or pharmacologically altered cardiac functions in rats, dogs, cats, and goats. This report aims to give an overview of the current studies of CMME-derived IVPD and IVPG in animal studies and its feasibility for clinical application in veterinary practice and to provide the prospects of the technique's ability to improve our understanding.
ABSTRACT
The introduction of new regenerative therapeutic modalities in the veterinary practice has recently picked up a lot of interest. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with a high capacity to self-renew and develop into tissue cells with specific roles. Hence, they are an effective therapeutic option to ameliorate the ability of the body to repair and engineer damaged tissues. Currently, based on their facile isolation and culture procedures and the absence of ethical concerns with their use, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising stem cell type for therapeutic applications. They are becoming more and more well-known in veterinary medicine because of their exceptional immunomodulatory capabilities. However, their implementation on the clinical scale is still challenging. These limitations to their use in diverse affections in different animals drive the advancement of these therapies. In the present article, we discuss the ability of MSCs as a potent therapeutic modality for the engineering of different animals' tissues including the heart, skin, digestive system (mouth, teeth, gastrointestinal tract, and liver), musculoskeletal system (tendons, ligaments, joints, muscles, and nerves), kidneys, respiratory system, and eyes based on the existing knowledge. Moreover, we highlighted the promises of the implementation of MSCs in clinical use in veterinary practice.
ABSTRACT
Acute kidney injury is a common problem in dogs and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. So, the present study aimed to evaluate symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and Doppler ultrasonography including resistive index (RI) in the diagnosis of acute kidney injury in dogs. Ten healthy mongrel dogs were injected with gentamicin sulfate 10% at the dose of 30 mg/kg body weight daily for 10 days for induction of acute kidney injury. Clinical, biochemical, ultrasonographic, and Doppler ultrasonographic examinations and urinalysis were performed for all dogs on 0 day before induction, on the 5th day, and on the 10th day of induction. The results of the current study showed significant increase in plasma level of SDMA, serum urea, creatinine, phosphorus, and potassium and a significant decrease in serum sodium, calcium, and chloride on the 5th day and 10th day of induction, and there was an increase in renal cortical echogenicity of the right and left kidney compared to adjacent liver and spleen, respectively. RI value showed a significant increase on the 5th day and 10th day of induction. The present study showed that SDMA is a sensitive and promising biomarker for diagnosis of acute kidney injury in dogs compared to routine biomarkers; also, the RI of Doppler ultrasonography is useful for early identifying acute kidney injury when the only observable change is an increase in cortical echogenicity.
