Perioperative outcomes in dogs and cats undergoing pancreatic surgery: 81 cases (2008-2019).

OBJECTIVES: To identify and describe the type and frequency of perioperative factors in dogs and cats undergoing pancreatic surgery under referral care. METHODS: Medical records from a small animal surgical referral practice were retrospectively reviewed to identify dogs and cats that underwent pancreatic surgery between 2008 and 2019. Inclusion criteria included complete medical record, histopathology results and follow-up of at least 14 days postoperatively or until death. Variables collected included signalment, history, presenting complaint, preoperative diagnostic results, intraoperative complications, surgical findings/procedures, postoperative complications and histopathology results. Cases were excluded if pertinent information or a histopathology report was missing from the medical record. The frequency of these variables was reported. RESULTS: There were 81 client-owned animals identified that met the inclusion criteria (57 dogs and 24 cats). The most common pancreatic procedure performed in dogs was partial pancreatectomy 63.2% (36/57) and in cats was pancreatic biopsy 62.5% (15/24). The most common histologic diagnosis in dogs was pancreatic islet cell carcinoma 50.9% (29/57) and in cats was pancreatitis 41.7% (10/24). The overall mortality rate was 13.6% (11/81), with a 10.5% (6/57) mortality rate in dogs and a 20.8% (5/24) mortality rate in cats. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In this series of dogs and cats, pancreatic surgery under referral care carried a low to moderate mortality rate.

Association of traditional risk factors with coronary calcification in persons with a family history of premature coronary heart disease: the study of the inherited risk of coronary atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors strongly influence the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but their contribution to variation in coronary atherosclerosis beyond that measured by traditional CHD risk factors is uncertain. METHODS: We recruited healthy subjects with family histories of premature CHD. We assessed traditional risk factors and performed electron beam tomography (EBT) to quantitate coronary artery calcification (CAC), a marker of coronary atherosclerosis. Persons with significant risk factors that included diabetes, total cholesterol >300 mg/dL, active cigarette smoking, and poorly controlled hypertension were excluded from the study. In this paper, we report on the relationship between traditional risk factors and CAC in this cohort. RESULTS: The incidence of coronary calcification was significantly higher in this cohort than in the population-based Rochester Heart Study. In our cohort, most traditional risk factors were significantly associated with CAC on univariate analysis. On the other hand, in stepwise logistical regression, age and triglycerides were the only predictors of variation in CAC in men and accounted for only 30% of the variation; in women, age, body mass index (BMI), and triglycerides were the only traditional risk factors significantly associated with CAC variation and accounted for 22.2% of CAC variance. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of subjects specifically selected for the characteristic of a family history of premature CHD, traditional risk factors accounted for less than one-third of the variation in CAC, and the most important predictors of CAC after age were plasma triglycerides. This supports the opinion that other inherited risk factors have important effects on the variation in coronary atherosclerosis and that the strategy of using EBT to phenotype clinically asymptomatic subjects with regard to coronary atherosclerosis may be a useful tool for identification of genes that are associated with CHD.

Electron beam computed tomography for the quantification of aortic valvular calcification.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Calcific aortic stenosis is common in the elderly; indeed, 30-60% of patients with mild 'senile' aortic stenosis will progress to severe obstruction. Nonetheless, predictors of progression are incompletely defined, and non-invasive technologies capable of quantifying aortic valve calcium are needed. The reliability of electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) was evaluated for quantification of aortic valve calcium content. METHODS: Nineteen patients with and without restrictive valve calcification underwent EBCT scanning. Separate calcium scores, 30 s apart, were obtained in all patients, and the Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated between measurements. The relationship between dichotomized mean calcium score and aortic valve area was also investigated. RESULTS: There was excellent correlation between calcium scores (R = 0.99, p = 0.0001), as well as a significant inverse relationship between calcium scores in the upper and lower ranges and aortic valve area (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: EBCT can be used for reproducible quantitation of aortic valve calcification. While at their extremes, calcium scores are inversely related to aortic valve area, further evaluation is needed to define the precise nature of this relationship throughout the spectrum of stenosis severity. EBCT holds promise in the longitudinal assessment of valvular calcification progression and its response to potential medical therapies.

Safety and effectiveness of Niaspan when added sequentially to a statin for treatment of dyslipidemia.

Niaspan, when added to a stable dose of a statin in 66 subjects, was found to be safe and highly effective in improving lipid parameters. Subgroup analyses demonstrated its effectiveness in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in persons not at the National Cholesterol and Education Program low-density lipoprotein cholesterol target and in raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in persons with levels < 40 mg/dl.

Characterization of the steady-state and dynamic fluorescence properties of the potential-sensitive dye bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid)trimethine oxonol (Dibac4(3)) in model systems and cells.

The steady-state and dynamic fluorescence properties of the membrane potential-sensitive bis-oxonol dye Dibac4(3) were characterized in vitro using model ligand systems and in vivo in A10 smooth muscle cells by fluorescence microscopy in conjunction with the ACAS imaging system. In the latter system the dye responds to potassium ion-induced jumps in membrane potential with changes in its fluorescence intensity, which follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. The relationship between the magnitude of the changes and the corresponding rate constants excludes the possibility that a simple, one-step equilibrium between extracellular and cytoplasmic dye would be sufficient to account for this phenomenon. The necessity of invoking an additional step suggested that the redistribution of the free dye between the cytoplasm and the exocellular medium is rapid and that the slow step associated with the fluorescence changes may be the interaction of the dye with proteins in the cytoplasm, along the lines proposed by Bräuner et al. (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 771 (1984), 208, 216). The interaction of the dye with BSA and with egg lecithin SUVs was studied as a model for the in vivo phenomenon. The dependence of fluorescence intensity changes on the concentrations of the reagents shows the formation of a reversible dye/albumin complex with a 2/1-stoichiometry, with Kd = 0.03 +/- 0.01 microM and a reversible adsorption to the SUVs with Kd 0.45 +/- 0.08 microM. The fluorescence lifetime of the dye in solution, < 100 ps, results in a high solution steady-state anisotropy. The latter decreases considerably upon binding to BSA, SUVs and A10 cells concomitant with a large increase in the lifetime. With such a short lifetime of the free dye, selective gating of the excitation source or the photodetector should eliminate the high background of the unbound dye and thereby enhance the sensitivity of the system.

Synthesis and biological activity of spirocyclic benzopyran imidazolone potassium channel openers.

A series of novel spirocyclic benzopyran imidazolones were synthesized as rigid analogues of cromakalim. These compounds cause a dose-dependent membrane hyperpolarization of A10 rat aorta cells. This hyperpolarization was blocked by pretreatment with glyburide, indicating that the spirocyclic benzopyran imidazolones were acting by increasing the open probability of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in A10 cells. Representative compounds also showed potent in vivo activity as hypotensive agents in normotensive rats. Many of the compounds described are much more potent than cromakalim both in vitro and in vivo, with one of the most potent compounds being 2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-6-nitro-2'-(propylamino)spiro[4H-1-benzopyran- 4,4'-[4H]imidazol]-5'(1'H)-one (5r). It is concluded that the N1' nitrogen of the imidazolone is an effective substitute for the carbonyl oxygen of cromakalim. The rigid spirocyclic ring fusion holds this nitrogen in an optimum orientation relative to the benzopyran ring.

Clonal relationships among Escherichia coli strains that cause hemorrhagic colitis and infantile diarrhea.

The genetic relationships among 1,300 isolates of Escherichia coli representing 16 serotypes associated with enteric disease, including O157:H7 strains recovered from patients with hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome and O26:H11, O55:H6, O55:H7, O111:H2, and O128:H2 strains, many of which were isolated originally from infants with diarrhea, were estimated from allelic variation among 20 enzyme-encoding genes detected by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. Multiple electrophoretic types were observed among isolates of each serotype, with isolates of the same O serogroup differing on average at 28% of the enzyme loci. Comparisons of the multilocus enzyme profiles revealed that 72% of the isolates belong to 15 major electrophoretic types, each of which corresponds to a bacterial clone with a wide geographic distribution. Genetically, the O157:H7 clone is most closely related to a clone of O55:H7 strains that has long been associated with worldwide outbreaks of infantile diarrhea. We propose that the new pathogen emerged when an O55:H7-like progenitor, already possessing a mechanism for adherence to intestinal cells, acquired secondary virulence factors (Shiga-like cytotoxins and plasmid-encoded adhesins) via horizontal transfer and recombination.

Nursing students' anticipation of experiencing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder.

40 nursing students rated the likelihood of experiencing symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder on a typical day during each of four seasons. Analysis suggests that these normal college students may expect to experience many of the symptoms, although less intensely than clinically depressed patients.

Genetic relationships among Escherichia coli isolates causing urinary tract infections in humans and animals.

Genetic variation in isolates of Escherichia coli obtained mostly from urinary tract infections in humans and domesticated animals (dogs and cats) was assessed for 16 enzymes using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis to characterize chromosomal genotypes. A total of 148 isolates comprised 63 distinct electrophoretic types (ETs) and about half of the isolates belonged to one of 9 common ETs. A bootstrap analysis of genetic distance between ETs revealed three significant groups of strains. Variation in allele frequencies among groups accounted for 40% of the total genetic diversity. The majority of the common ETs fell into a major cluster of closely related strains. The recovery of multiple isolates of the same electrophoretic types and serotypes from unassociated hosts suggests that these bacteria represent uropathogenic clones that are widely disseminated in humans and animals.

Effect of carnitine analogs on carnitine acetyltransferase.

Carnitine analogs with various substituents on the nitrogen were tested for their effect on carnitine acetyltransferase from rat sperm and pigeon breast. A radiometric assay was used to measure the formation of acetylcarnitine in the presence of other enzymes that competed for acetyl coenzyme A in the sperm preparation. The apparent enzyme inhibition caused by the analogs was explained by the analogs serving as alternative substrates with higher Km and lower Vmax values. The analogs had no effect on whole sperm.