Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 14 items for
- Author or Editor: David Taylor x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION A 15-year-old neutered female mixed-breed dog (dog 1) and an 11-year-old neutered female Labrador Retriever (dog 2) were examined because of unilateral exophthalmus, third eyelid protrusion, and periorbital swelling that failed to respond to antimicrobial treatment.
CLINICAL FINDINGS Both dogs underwent ultrasonographic, CT, and MRI examination of the head. In both dogs, advanced imaging revealed a poorly defined, peripherally contrast-enhancing, mucous-filled cystic mass that radiated from the temporomandibular joint and infiltrated the periorbital tissues and retrobulbar space. Both dogs underwent surgical biopsy of the periorbital mass. A viscous, straw-colored fluid was aspirated from the retrobulbar region in both dogs. The initial histologic diagnosis for dog 1 was zygomatic sialadenitis and sialocele. However, the clinical signs recurred, and histologic examination of specimens obtained during a second surgical biopsy resulted in a diagnosis of myxoma. The histologic diagnosis was myxosarcoma for dog 2.
TREATMENT AND OUTCOME In both dogs, clinical signs recurred within 2 weeks after surgery and persisted for the duration of their lives. Dog 1 received no further treatment after the second surgery and was euthanized 34 months after initial examination because of multicentric lymphoma. Dog 2 was treated with various chemotherapy agents and was euthanized 11 months after initial examination because of a dramatic increase in periocular swelling and respiratory stertor.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE Temporomandibular myxomatous neoplasia can be confused with zygomatic sialocele on the basis of clinical signs but has characteristic MRI features. Representative biopsy specimens should be obtained from areas close to the temporomandibular joint to avoid misdiagnosis.
Abstract
Objective—To determine whether solar load distribution pattern on a solid nondeformable ground surface is the product of contact erosion and is the mirror image of load distribution on a deformable surface in horses.
Animals—30 clinically normal horses.
Procedures—Solar load distribution was compared among 25 clinically normal horses during quasistatic loading on a solid nondeformable surface and on a highly deformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution patterns were evaluated in 5 previously pasture- maintained horses housed on a flat nondeformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution created by traditional trimming and shoeing were recorded.
Results—Unshod untrimmed horses had a 4-point (12/25, 48%) or a 3-point (13/25, 52%) wall load distribution pattern on a flat solid surface. Load distribution on a deformable ground surface was principally solar and located transversely across the central region of the foot. Ground surface contact areas on solid (24.2 ± 8.62 cm2) and deformable (69.4 ± 22.55 cm2) surfaces were significantly different. Maintaining unshod horses on a flat nondeformable surface resulted in a loss of the 3- and 4-point loading pattern and an increase in ground surface contact area (17.9 ± 2.77 to 39.9 ± 12.77 cm2). Trimming increased ground surface contact area (24.2 ± 8.60 to 45.7 ± 14.89 cm2).
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—In horses, the solar surface is the primary weight-loading surface, and deformability of ground surface may have a role in foot expansion during loading. Increased surface area induced by loading on deformable surfaces, trimming, and shoeing protects the foot. (Am J Vet Res 2001;62:895–900)
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the short-term effects of 4 therapeutic shoeing systems on lameness and voluntary limb-load distribution in horses with chronic laminitis.
Animals—10 horses with chronic laminitis.
Procedures—A clinical trial was conducted that used a concurrent control, crossover design to evaluate the relative effectiveness of a standard flat shoe, fullered egg-bar shoe, heart-bar shoe, and modified equine digital support system to alleviate chronic lameness in horses. Therapeutic success was assessed during a 7-day period by use of subjective (Obel grade and clinical score) and objective (forceplate data) evaluations.
Results—Comparison of pretreatment and intertreatment control data indicated that disease status of the horses did not change during the course of the study. None of the therapeutic shoeing treatments used resulted in a significant change in severity of lameness.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results were interpreted to imply that substantial clinical improvement should not be expected during the first 7 days after therapeutic shoeing for the specific shoes tested in this study. On the basis of our results, we hypothesize that when used as the lone indicator of therapeutic success, severity of lameness may not be a valid indicator. (Am J Vet Res 2002;63:1629–1633)
Abstract
Objective—To characterize the clinical signs of globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) in Australian Kelpies from a working line (AWKs) and determine whether an association existed between these signs and degrees of demyelination and inflammatory responses in affected brains.
Design—Case-control study.
Animals—4 AWKs with GLD (cases) and 7 unaffected young adult dogs of mixed breeding (controls).
Procedures—Clinical records were reviewed for information on signalment, and samples of neurologic tissues underwent histological processing, immunohistochemical staining, and image analysis. Findings were compared between case and control dogs.
Results—The 4 affected AWKs had progressive ataxia, tremors, and paresis and low leukocyte activity of galactosylceramidase, the lysosomal enzyme deficient in GLD. Image analysis of neurologic tissue revealed globoid cells characteristic of GLD and substantial demyelination in the peripheral and central nervous systems, relative to that in neurologic tissue from control dogs. This was accompanied by microglial activation, reactive astrocyto-sis, and axonal spheroid formation.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The demyelination, inflammatory responses, and axo-nal spheroids evident in the AWKs were consistent with the clinical signs of peripheral nerve, spinal cord, and cerebellar dysfunction. Because GLD is an autosomal recessive inherited disease, with considerable overlap in galactosylceramidase activity existing among heterozygotes and noncarriers, development of a molecular test is important for preventing the perpetuation of this disease in the Australian Kelpie breed. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010;237:682-688)
Abstract
Objective—To determine lactate breakpoint of horses and test for effects of training and dietary supplementation with corn oil on that breakpoint.
Animals—7 healthy Arabian horses.
Procedures—Horses received a control diet (n = 4) or a diet supplemented with 10% corn oil (4). A training program, which comprised two 5-week conditioning periods with 1 week of rest, was initiated. Submaximal incremental exercise tests (IET) were conducted before the first and after both conditioning periods. Blood samples for determination of blood lactate and plasma glucose concentrations were collected 1 minute before IET and during the 15 seconds immediately preceding each speed change. Data collected were fit to one- and twoslope broken-line models and an exponential model.
Results—Good fits were obtained by application of the broken-line models (adjusted R 2 > 0.92) to blood lactate concentration versus speed curves. Lactate breakpoints increased 41% after training but were not affected by diet. After training, slope 2 and peak blood lactate concentrations were greater in the corn oil group, compared with controls. Mean blood lactate concentration at the breakpoint was not affected by training or diet. Plasma glucose concentration versus speed curves also fit the broken-line models, and glucose breakpoints preceded lactate breakpoints by approximately 1 m/s in the second and third IET.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Lactate breakpoints can be determined for horses, using blood lactate concentration versus speed curves generated during submaximal IET and may be useful for assessing fitness and monitoring training programs in equine athletes. (Am J Vet Res 2000;61:144–151)
Abstract
Case Description—An 8-month-old Shetland Sheepdog was evaluated because of the sudden onset of signs of neck pain, collapse, and inability to rise. A cursory diet history indicated that the dog had been fed a raw meat–based diet.
Clinical Findings—Initial evaluation of the dog revealed small physical stature, thin body condition, and signs of cranial cervical myelopathy. Radiographically, diffuse osteopenia of all skeletal regions was identified; polyostotic deformities associated with fracture remodeling were observed in weight-bearing bones, along with an apparent floating dental arcade. Hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia were detected via serum biochemical analyses. The dog's diet was imbalanced in macronutrients and macrominerals.
Treatment and Outcome—The dog received supportive care and treatment of medical complications; neurologic abnormalities improved rapidly without intervention. Dietary changes were implemented during hospitalization, and a long-term feeding regimen was established. Following discharge from the hospital, exercise restriction was continued at home. Serial follow-up evaluations, including quantitative bone density measurements, revealed that dietary changes were effective. After 7 months, the dog was clinically normal.
Clinical Relevance—In the dog of this report, vitamin D–dependent rickets type I and suspected nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism developed following intake of a nutritionally incomplete and unbalanced diet. The raw meat–based, home-prepared diet fed to the dog was not feed-trial tested for any life stage by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, and its gross nutrient imbalance induced severe metabolic, orthopedic, and neurologic abnormalities. Inadvertent malnutrition can be avoided through proper diet assessment and by matching nutrient profiles with patients' nutritional needs.
Abstract
Objectives—To compare limb-load distribution between horses with and without acute or chronic laminitis.
Animals—10 horses with carbohydrate-induced acute laminitis, 20 horses with naturally occurring chronic laminitis, and 20 horses without foot abnormalities (controls).
Procedures—Limb-load distribution was determined, using a custom-designed system that allowed simultaneous quantification of the mean percentage of body weight voluntarily placed on each limb (ie, mean limb load) and the SD of the mean load over a 5- minute period (ie, load distribution profile [LDP]). Load distribution profile was used as an index of frequency of load redistribution.
Results—Mean loads on fore- and hind limbs in control horses were 58 and 42%, respectively, and loads were equally and normally distributed between left and right limbs. In addition, forelimb LDP was greater, compared with hind limbs, and was affected by head and neck movement. In comparison, limb-load distribution in horses with chronic laminitis was characterized by an increase in the preferential loading of a forelimb, a decrease in total forelimb load, and an increase in LDP that was correlated with severity of lameness. In horses with carbohydrate-induced acute laminitis, mean limb loads after onset of lameness were not different from those prior to lameness; however, LDP was significantly decreased after onset of lameness.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Quantification of limb-load distribution may be an applicable screening method for detecting acute laminitis, grading severity of lameness, and monitoring rehabilitation of horses with chronic laminitis. (Am J Vet Res 2001; 62:1393–1398)
Abstract
Case Description—A 10-year-old sexually intact female dog was examined because of a static, well-circumscribed subcutaneous mass and associated fistulous draining tract located along the right ventrolateral aspect of the thoracic body wall of 15 months' duration.
Clinical Findings—Results of computed tomography and fistulography confirmed the presence of the fistulous tract. Computed tomography also revealed a focal, hypodense region in the right ventral portion of the liver that was adjacent to but not clearly associated with the fistulous tract.
Treatment and Outcome—Surgical exploration of the tract revealed that it passed into the right hemithorax to the diaphragm; entered the right medial lobe of the liver; and terminated in a well-encapsulated, cystic liver lesion. The right medial liver lobe and all affected tissues were removed. Histologically, the liver lesion consisted of a fibrotic, dilated bile duct. The dilated bile duct and fistula were lined with biliary epithelium. On the basis of these findings, a diagnosis of spontaneous external biliary fistula was made. Five months after surgery, the dog was clinically normal.
Clinical Relevance—To the authors' knowledge, spontaneous external biliary fistula in a dog has not been reported in the veterinary medical literature. Despite the rarity of this condition, it should be considered in a dog with similar clinical findings. Clinical findings and results of appropriate diagnostic imaging procedures may provide valuable information in making this diagnosis and in planning surgical treatment.
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate patterns of digital cushion (DC) displacement that occur in response to vertical loading of the distal portion of the forelimb in horses.
Sample Population—Forelimbs from 10 horses with normal feet.
Procedure—Patterns of DC displacement induced by in vitro vertical limb loading were determined. Loadinduced displacement of the DC was defined as the magnitude and direction of displacement of 6 radiodense, percutaneously implanted markers in specific regions of the DC. The effects of solar support and nonsupport on displacement of the DC were compared.
Results—Regional displacement of the DC occurred principally along distal and palmar vectors in response to vertical loading. Medial or lateral abaxial displacements were variable and appeared to be dependent on response of the limb to the applied load. Displacement of the DC was not affected by the degree of solar support.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Data indicated that the biomechanical function of the DC is to act as a restraint to the displacement of the second phalanx or as a passive structure that allows flexibility of the caudal two thirds of the foot. Results did not indicate that the DC provides a force that induces displacement of or an active restraint against outward displacement of the hoof wall capsule. (Am J Vet Res 2005;66:623–629)
