In mammalian species studied previously, pepsinogen consisted of biochemically different groups of isozymogens. By use of gel filtration chromatography and electrophoresis, we isolated a predominant pepsinogen from the gastric mucosa of a horse. Peptide mapping with V8 protease revealed differences with its porcine homologue. However, porcine and equine pepsinogens, when activated to pepsin, had a similar pattern of activity when hemoglobin was used as substrate. Those results suggest that differences must exist in the primary structure of the pepsinogens of the 2 species.

The thiamylal sparing effect of midazolam was studied in 30 healthy Beagle and mixed-breed dogs. Using a replicated Latin square design, all dogs were given placebo (saline solution) and 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg of midazolam/kg of body weight prior to IV administration of thiamylal sodium. The 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg dosages significantly decreased the amount of thiamylal required to obtund swallowing reflex and easily achieve endotracheal intubation. Midazolam at 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg reduced thiamylal requirement by 16.4% and 18.9%, respectively, whereas the 0.05 mg/kg dosage decreased thiamylal requirement by only 6.8%. The 0.2 mg/kg dosage did not further decrease thiamylal requirement beyond that achieved with the 0.1 mg/kg dosage of midazolam. This study demonstrates that the preanesthetic IV administration of midazolam reduces the thiamylal dose necessary to accomplish intubation. The optimal preanesthetic dosage (lowest dosage with significant effect) was 0.1 mg/kg.

The association between ocular squamous cell tumors and various measures of solar radiation was evaluated for 2,775 contemporaneous Hereford cattle. The animals were from 34 herds located in 21 states in the United States and in one Canadian province. Examinations and photographs were made of the eyes of all cows and heifers in a herd; 33 herds were examined between June and August 1957 and 1 herd was examined in 1958. Solar radiation was measured by altitude and mean annual hours of sunshine applying to an individual herd, and global radiation, a cloudiness index, and elevation of nearby National Weather Service stations. All measures of solar radiation provided evidence of a significant association between increasing risks of developing cancer eye and increasing levels of radiation; adjustments were made for possible confounding effects of age and corneoscleral pigmentation. Associations were evident whether affliction was defined as the occurrence of any type of tumor (ie, plaque, papilloma, or carcinoma), or as the occurrence of only papilloma or carcinoma. Average ages of affected cattle also tended to be lower at high radiation levels than at low levels, further supporting the hypothesis that solar radiation has an important role in the development of this disease. In view of the heritability of eye pigmentation and its inhibitory effect on lesions, cancer eye may be controlled by selective breeding for increased pigmentation in and around the eye to afford protection against the harmful effects of incident UV radiation.

Previous work had indicated that the 2 canine hookworms, Ancylostoma caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala, may differ in their susceptibility to treatment with milbemycin oxime. Thus, the study reported here was to examine the effects of this drug on concomitant infections in experimentally infected dogs. Twenty specific-pathogen-free Beagles were inoculated orally with 500 infective-stage larvae from a mixture of larval A caninum and U stenocephala. Quantitative fecal examinations were performed weekly, beginning the day of infection. The dogs were assigned to 2 equal groups, 1 group that received the compound and 1 that received a placebo. The dogs were treated on postinoculation days 30, 60, and 90. For A caninum, egg counts dropped precipitously after the first treatment, and no eggs of this species were found in the feces of any of the treated dogs after the second treatment. The treatments had no significant effect on the mean egg counts made on U stenocephala, although 2 dogs stopped passing eggs entirely after the second treatment. At necropsy, no A caninum were found in any of the treated dogs; the mean number recovered from the control-group dogs was 56.1. Significant difference was not found in the mean number of adult U stenocephala recovered from the treated and control groups (27.0 and 21.7, respectively).

Bone marrow fibroblast colony-forming units (CFU-F) were evaluated in cats experimentally infected with different isolates of FeLV. Cats infected with the Kawakami-Theilen isolate of FeLV (FeLV-KT) had progressive decrease in the number of CFU-F at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after infection. The number of CFU-F in FeLV-KT-infected cats ranged from 38 to 70% of the preinoculation CFU-F value. Of 3 cats with FeLV-KT-induced suppression of CFU-F, 2 developed fatal nonregenerative anemia. Cats infected with the Rickard isolate of FeLV (FeLV-R) had more moderate decrease in the number of CFU-F at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after infection. The number of CFU-F in FeLV-R-infected cats ranged from 62 to 82% of the preinoculation CFU-F value. The FeLV-R-infected cats did not become anemic.

Effects of the endophyte Acremonium coenophialum in tall fescue on pregnant mares and foal viability were evaluated. Twenty-two mature pregnant mares were randomly chosen to graze either Kentucky-31 tall fescue that was free from A coenophialum (endophyte-free, EF) or tall fescue infected with A coenophialum (endophyte-present, EP) after the first 90 days of pregnancy through parturition. Concentrations of pyrrolizidine and ergopeptine alkaloids were significantly greater in EP grass, compared with EF pasture. Ten of 11 mares grazing EP pasture had obvious dystocia. Mean duration of gestation was significantly greater for the EP group, compared with the EF group. Foal survivability was severely reduced among mares grazing Ep fescue with only 1 foal surviving the natal period. Udder development and lactation were low in mares grazing EP grass. The absence of clinical problems in mares grazing EF grass implicated the endophyte as the causative agent of reproductive problems and perinatal foal mortality in pregnant mares grazing endophyte-infected fescue grass. Caution should be exercised in allowing pregnant mares to graze pastures infected with the endophyte A coenophialum.

The area of skin supplied by the afferent fibers in one cutaneous nerve is called the cutaneous area (CA) for that nerve. The CA of peripheral branches of lumbar and sacral spinal nerves responsive to the stimulation of hair follicle mechanoreceptors were mapped in 27 dogs. The amount of overlap among the CA was similar to that found for other CA of the body. The CA of peripheral branches of the sciatic nerve were restricted to the lateral, cranial, and caudal aspects of the pelvic limb distal to the stifle. The CA of the saphenous nerve was located on the medial side of the limb, except for a small area located on the lateral side of the crus. The distal part of the CA of the saphenous nerve was completely overlapped in the hind paw by branches of the superficial peroneal nerve laterally and the medial plantar branch of the tibial nerve medially. The CA for the deep peroneal nerve was located on the dorsal surface of the webbing between digits 2 and 3 and the adjacent skin of these digits. The CA of the plantar branches of the tibial nerve were small in comparison with the diameter of the nerve, suggesting that these branches contained nerve fibers supplying other, deeper structures in the hindpaw and that damage to these nerves would interfere with cutaneous sensation in only a small region on the plantar surface of the hindpaw. Knowledge of the CA of the various branches of the sciatic nerve allows more accurate localization of injury to the sciatic nerve or its branches by using areas of anesthesia.

Canine erythrocytes were loaded with the antineoplastic drug doxorubicin and then treated with 0.16% glutaraldehyde. This procedure has been previously shown to slow down the efflux of doxorubicin from erythrocytes and to result in the selective targeting of the carrier erythrocytes to liver. Three dogs were treated each with 2 different schedules of IV bolus administration of doxorubicin (0.4 mg/kg of body weight): free drug and doxorubicin encapsulated in glutaraldehyde-treated erythrocytes. The 2 treatments yielded consistent differences in the plasma pharmacokinetic properties of doxorubicin and of its only metabolite, doxorubicinol. A triphasic exponential decay of doxorubicin plasma concentrations was observed on injection of the free drug. Conversely, in the case of erythrocyte-encapsulated doxorubicin, 4 phases of plasma concentrations of doxorubicin were found. The plasma concentrations of doxorubicinol, after a steady increase during the first hour, followed patterns of decay comparable to those of the parent drug. On the basis of the kinetic variables calculated with the 2 administration schedules, area under curve concentrations of plasma doxorubicin were 136 microgram.h/L (free infusion) and 734 microgram.h/L erythrocyte-encapsulated drug). Significant alterations of hematologic and hematochemical factors were not observed in the 3 dogs during and after the 2 treatments. On the basis of our findings, doxorubicin-loaded and glutaraldehyde-treated erythrocytes may potentially be used in the treatment of systemic and hepatic tumors in dogs.

Epidemiologic data were evaluated from all dogs admitted to the University of Minnesota, Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UMVTH) between June 1981 and November 1989. Of 69,890 admissions, 2,077 were Miniature Schnauzers. Uroliths were retrieved from 63 of the 2,077 Miniature Schnauzers admitted. In 20 of the 63 urolith episodes, calcium oxalate was the predominant mineral identified. By comparison, calcium oxalate uroliths were identified in only 56 of the remaining 67,813 non-Miniature Schnauzer canine admissions. The odds that uroliths from Miniature Schnauzers were composed of calcium oxalate was 11.8 times greater than for other canine breeds evaluated at the UMVTH (95% confidence interval = 6.8 to 20.1). Data also were evaluated from files of uroliths retrieved from dogs and submitted to the Minnesota Urolith Center for quantitative mineral analysis between June 1981 and November 1989. Of 3,930 uroliths analyzed, 615 (15.6%) uroliths were obtained from Miniature Schnauzers. Of the 615 uroliths, 175 (28.4%) were calcium oxalate. By comparison, only 550 (16.6%) of the remaining 3,315 from dogs of breeds other than Miniature Schnauzers were calcium oxalate. The odds that uroliths submitted for analysis were composed of calcium oxalate was 2 times greater for Miniature Schnauzers than for dogs of other breeds (95% confidence interval = 1.6 to 2.4). Calcium oxalate uroliths were retrieved more frequently in males than females. The risk for males developing calcium oxalate uroliths was > 3 times the risk for females in both groups of data evaluated. The mean age of all Miniature Schnauzers admitted to the UMVTH with calcium oxalate uroliths was 9 years. Calcium oxalate uroliths were not detected in Miniature Schnauzers younger than 1.7 years.

To evaluate underlying causes of calcium oxalate urolithiasis, 24-hour excretion of urine metabolites was measured in 6 Miniature Schnauzers that formed calcium oxalate (CaOx) uroliths during periods when they were fed a standard diet and during periods when food was withheld. Serum concentrations of parathyroid hormone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D also were evaluated. Serum calcium concentrations were normal in all 6 affected Miniature Schnauzers; however, during diet consumption, mean 24-hour urinary excretion of calcium was significantly (P = 0.025) higher than calcium excretion when food was withheld. In 1 dog, urinary calcium excretion was lower during the period of food consumption, compared with the period when food was withheld. Compared with clinically normal Beagles, Miniature Schnauzers that formed CaOx uroliths excreted significantly greater quantities of calcium when food was consumed (P = 0.0004) and when food was withheld (P = 0.001). Miniature Schnauzers that formed CaOx uroliths excreted significantly less oxalate than clinically normal Beagles during fed (P = 0.028) and nonfed (P = 0.004) conditions. Affected Miniature Schnauzers also excreted abnormally high quantities of uric acid. Excretion of citrate was not different between Miniature Schnauzers with CaOx urolithiasis and clinically normal Beagles. In 5 of 6 Miniature Schnauzers with CaOx urolithiasis, concentrations of serum parathyroid hormone were similar to values from age- and gender-matched Miniature Schnauzers without uroliths. The concentration of serum parathyroid hormone in 1 dog was > 4 times the mean concentration of clinically normal Miniature Schnauzers. Mean serum concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in Miniature Schnauzers with calcium oxalate urolithiasis were similar to concentrations of clinically normal Miniature Schnauzers.