Uterine intussusception is a rare condition in bitches. This study aimed to report an unusual case of prolapsed uterine intussusception in a female dog. A 2-year-old American Bully bitch was received with labor history of large fetus requiring manual traction. The animal presented mucosal prolapse through the vulva, unproductive contractions and abdominal discomfort. After partial correction of mucosal prolapse, the dog was referred to ovary-hysterectomy surgery to correct prolapsed mucosa. During the surgical procedure, surgeons observed that the uterine horns were invaginated into the uterine body, rotated, and the tissue was slightly devitalized and congested. As previously described, this condition occurred during the immediate postpartum period. Thus, we suggest that this period can be a facilitator for the establishment of uterine intussusception.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) a is a painful condition related to myofascial trigger points (TP) in skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to perform a literature review on the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of MPS in veterinary medicine. The research sites used for this purpose were: Scientific Electronic Library, PubMed and Medline. The inclusion criteria for the papers were: must be written in English; published between 1990 and 2018; include the following keywords: myofascial pain syndrome veterinary/dog/canine/cat/feline/horse/equine, trigger points veterinary/dog/canine/cat/feline/horse/equine. Through the review, it was observed that veterinary clinical studies are scarce, and the articles found lack information such as MPS description, incidence and specific treatment techniques in dogs and horses, and no studies in cats were found.

Five-minute heart-rate variability (HRV) measurement is a useful tool for assessing the autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance in humans, but there are no studies on healthy dogs. The aim of the study was, therefore, to provide the reference ranges in small and medium-sized breeds for short-term HRV time and frequency domain (TFD) analyses. A total of 79 healthy dogs were included in the study between 2015 and 2019. Grouping by age with the breakpoint at six years and subgrouping by reproductive status and sex was imposed. All the dogs were included after physical and cardiological examinations and blood analyses. The TFD of HRV were analysed from a five-minute-long digital ECG recording after removal of non-sinus complexes. There were no statistically significant differences in any TFD parameters between age, reproductive status or sex groups. A mild increase in all time domain parameters and the high-frequency (HF) band was observed in older dogs, and the low frequency (LF):HF ratio decreased in these dogs. In males, the time domain parameters and HF band increased slightly. The normal ranges for HRV derived from short-term ECG recording in the usual clinical environment now have proposed reference ranges. Our findings suggest that accommodation time, age, sex, or reproductive status do not influence the results derived from these recordings, indicating that this method is reliable for assessing the ANS function in small and medium-sized dog breeds.

Atrial fibrillation may potentially contribute to oxidative stress to a greater extent than chronic heart failure. The aim of the study was to compare the serum total antioxidant capacity and enzymatic antioxidant defence of dogs with chronic heart failure and atrial fibrillation with those of subjects with chronic heart failure and sinus rhythm and healthy controls. A total of 33 dogs were divided into three groups: dogs with chronic heart failure and atrial fibrillation (CHF + AF; n = 12), chronic heart failure and sinus rhythm (CHF + SR; n = 9), and healthy controls (n = 12). Serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), serum CuZn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, and plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were determined. SOD activity and serum TAC were significantly lower in the study groups than in control animals. Catalase activity was significantly higher and plasma GPx activity significantly lower in dogs with CHF + AF compared with the CHF + SR and control dogs. The results suggest that chronic heart failure in dogs significantly impacts the serum TAC and the antioxidant enzymatic defence, while plasma GPx activity is markedly lower in dogs with chronic heart failure and atrial fibrillation. The role of that imbalance needs further investigation.

Clinoptilolite has antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties due to its biological activities. In various cancer cell culture studies, it has been reported effective against tumour cells and gave positive results in treatment of various tumours in dogs. No study was found on the effects of the nanoparticulate form, nanoclinoptilolite, on cancer cells. The aim of this study was to determine its cytotoxic and apoptotic effects in canine osteosarcoma (OSA) cell culture. Doses at 50% inhibitory concentration were determined by measuring the dose- and duration-dependent cytotoxicity of nanoclinoptilolite on canine D-17 osteosarcoma cells by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) test for 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Murine caspase-3 and -7 activity and expression levels of the BAX and BCL2 genes were measured using RT-PCR to investigate the apoptotic effect. Nanoclinoptilolite decreased cell viability and induced caspase-3- and -7-mediated apoptosis in treated canine OSA cells. Furthermore, its application to canine OSA cells downregulated the expression of BCL2 and upregulated the expression of proapoptotic BAX. Clinoptilolite, which was previously demonstrated to have anticancer properties, decreased cell viability effectively and rapidly and increased the apoptotic cell ratio in a novel use in nanoparticle form, exhibiting this effect by increasing the BAX/BCL2 ratio.

Salmonellosis is a zoonotic disease, and Salmonella spp. can sometimes be found in dogs and cats, posing a risk to human health. In this study, the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of faecal Salmonella were investigated in pet dogs and cats in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Faecal samples from 243 dogs and 113 cats, at seven pet clinics, were tested between March 2018 and May 2019. Each Salmonella isolate was characterised using serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. The prevalence of Salmonella was 9.47% in dogs and 1.77% in cats. Among the 25 isolates, eight serotypes of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica were detected, S. Kentucky (n = 11), S. Indiana (n = 5), and S. Typhimurium (n = 4) predominating. S. Derby, S. Toucra, S. Sandiego, S. Newport, and S. Saintpaul all occurred singly. The 23 Salmonella strains found in dogs were from seven different serovars, while the two strains in cats were from two. The highest resistance rates were found for tetracycline (92%), azithromycin (88%), cefazolin (84%), nalidixic acid (80%), ampicillin (80%), ceftriaxone (80%), and streptomycin (76%). Resistance to three or more antimicrobial agents was detected in 24 (96%) isolates. Most of the S. Kentucky and S. Indiana isolates were multi-drug resistant to more than 11 agents. The carriage rate was far higher in dogs than in cats from Xuzhou. Some isolated strains were highly resistant to antimicrobials used to treat infections in humans and pets, which may raise the risk of humans being infected with multi-drug resistant Salmonella via close contact with pets.

Canine parvovirus (CPV) disease is one of the most threatening to domestic and wild dogs. A total of 132 clinical samples were isolated from domestic dogs with diarrhoea from Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces from 2016 to 2017, and 56 were positive for CPV-2 by PCR. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the isolate sequences incorporating 53 non-Chinese reference strains. VP2 sequences showed the strains mainly to be new CPV-2a/2b and CPV-2c genotypes. The Ala5Gly, Phe267Tyr, Ser297Ala, Tyr324Ile, Gln370Arg, Asn426Asp or Asn426Glu, and Thr440Ala sites in the VP2 protein antigenic region were found to have high mutation rates. The VP2 tertiary structural model shows that the change at these mutation points is a factor for the changes in the protein structure. Significant differences between the Central Chinese strains and others were found, indicating that evolution is geographically related and extended in major regions. The homology between the identified strains confirmed their relationship. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the common genotypes in the same clusters differ slightly in homology and evolutionary history. This epidemiological study enriches the available data and serves as an important reference for studies on the evolution of CPV and selection of vaccines in China.

The therapeutic effect of subcutaneous embedding and revascularisation on the repair of canine bone defects caused by open fracture was examined. A total of 12 adult beagle dogs were randomly split into a control group (group C) and a test group (group T). A section of the radius was removed from each dog under general anaesthesia and the deficit supported by an orthopaedic implant. Group T had the section surgically implanted next to the blood vessel–rich saphenous vein and Group C had it cryopreserved at −80°C. After eight weeks, the bone was surgically implanted back into the matching radial deficit. Bone healing was evaluated by gross morphological and X-ray examinations, post-mortem histology, and successive blood measurements of key bone biochemical markers. At 12 weeks, the bone healing boundary was disappearing more quickly in group T dogs than in their group C counterparts. X-ray and histological examinations showed that the cortical repair of group T subjects was complete and the bony plate arrangement was more regular than that in group C. The levels of bone biochemical markers also proved that the healing state of group T was better. The results showed that the degree of healing, osteoclast activity, and bone formation status of group T were better than those of group C, proving that the vascularised bone graft had a significantly shorter healing time than the cryopreserved bone graft.

In canine and feline populations, the number of neoplasm cases continues to increase around the world. Attempts are being made in centres of research to identify new biomarkers that speed up and improve the quality of oncological diagnostics and therapy in human and animal tumour patients. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a promising biomarker with increasing relevance to human oncology, but as yet with less application in veterinary oncology. The expression of COX-2 increases significantly during pathological processes involving inflammation, pain or fever. It is also overexpressed in humans presenting various types of tumours and in selected types of tumours in animals, particularly in dogs. This article discusses the expression of COX-2 in canine and feline tumours, the importance of COX-2 as a biomarker with diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic and predictive relevance in oncology, and the clinical significance of inhibiting COX-2 overexpression in tumours.

Objective: To evaluate the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the attenuation of canine atopic dermatitis (AD). Materials and methods: Sixteen dogs were selected and divided into three groups, mild, moder¬ate, and severe, according to the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-4). They were evaluated for 82 days. The protocol recommended in this experiment was to inject 2 × 106/kg bodyweight of MSCs in all groups by the intravenous route with intervals of applications of 21 days. The degree of pruritus was evaluated by examining the visual analog scale, the CADESI-4, the histopathology of the skin, hematological and biochemical parameters, the pyogenic effect of MSCs, and the thickness of the epidermis. Results: There was a significant difference in the reduction of epidermal thickness in the moder¬ate and severe groups. Hematological, biochemical, and body temperature parameters remained within normal limits for the species with no side effects Conclusion: MSCs attenuated the clinical signs of AD. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2020; 7(3.000): 554-565]