A modified Bell-Tawse Proceduter for surgical correction of congenital elbow luxation in a Dalmatian puppy

A four month old Dalmatian puppy affected by congenital luxation of the radial head was very lame on the right front limb and was not weight bearing after little exercise. The radiological examination revealed humero-radial articular incongruity, excessive humeral trochlea development, trochlear notch deformation, and medial deviation of the olecranon. The surgery performed was derived from a modification of a human orthopaedic procedure, the Bell-Tawse technique. It was intended to increase the articular contact surface between the humerus and radius, with ostectomy, rotation, and osteosynthesis of the radius; to treat the luxation, by reduction and elbow annular ligament reconstruction; to prevent its recurrence, by means of a Kirschner pin inserted through the lateral humeral epicondyle to the radial head. Over six months the patient completely recovered.

A congenital luxation of the radial head in a puppy was treated successfully employing a technique reported in human orthopaedics.

The trochanter tertius in a dog

The tuberositas glutaea is a rudimentary structure in the dog's os femoris. It gives attachment to the superficial gluteal muscle, and is known by veterinary anatomists and orthopedic surgeons as trochanter tertius. We report an atypical eminence exposed through a surgical approach on a Cane Corso Dog. Anatomic and radiographic investigations led us to recognize this eminence as an abnormally grown tuberositas glutaea.

308 ISOLATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND IMMUNOPHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS DERIVED FROM EQUINE ADIPOSE TISSUE AND BONE MARROW

Minimum criteria for the characterisation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are a) adhesion to the plastic when maintained under culture conditions; b) expression of CD105, CD73, and CD90, and no expression for CD45, CD34, and CD14; and c) differentiation into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondroblasts in vitro. One major difficulty in characterising equine MSC is the absence of specific monoclonal antibodies and evidence that certain markers from other species do not cross-react with the equine species. The aim of this work was to isolate, cultivate, differentiate, and conduct cellular characterisation of MSC derived from equine adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM). Adipose tissue collection was performed at the base of the horses’ tails, and BM was aspirated from the iliac crest. Mononuclear cell fraction was isolated and cultured as previously described by (Colleoni et al. 2009 Vet. Res. Commun. 33, 811–821). Chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic differentiation were performed in monolayer culture, and evidence for differentiation was made by morphological and cytological evaluations. For molecular characterisation, cells were treated with trypsin, washed with PBS, and fixed with Reagent 1 (Intraprep Kit, Beckman Coulter, Miami, FL, USA), following the manufacturer’s instructions. Samples, after washings, were incubated for 20 min at room temperature with CD105, CD90, CD44, CD45, CD34, CD14, and CD73 mAbs, directly conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate, PE, or APC (Beckman Coulter). Appropriate conjugate isotype controls were applied (Beckman Coulter). After staining, cells were washed twice with PBS, and fluorescence intensity was evaluated with a FC500 two-laser equipped cytometer (Beckman Coulter). Results were further analysed with the CXP dedicated program. Samples volumes were 68 ± 23.6 mL for BM and 5.6 ± 1.1 g for AT; in both AT and BM, the isolation rate was 100% (AT: 4/4; BM: 5/5). Undifferentiated cells were passaged up to 8 times for AT and 5 times for BM; population-doubling times (DT) were calculated, and data were analysed by ANOVA (Statistica for Windows, Stat Soft Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA). No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found between DT of all passages. The DT was greater (P < 0.05) for BM (3.2 ± 1.5) than for AT (1.3 ± 0.7). By passage 8, AT MSC underwent 37.3 ± 4.6 cell-doublings (CD); by passage 5, BM MSC underwent 26.2 ± 5.03 CD. Positive von Kossa and Alizarin Red staining confirmed osteogenesis. Alcian blue staining illustrated chondrogenesis, and positive Oil Red O staining suggested adipogenesis. The AT and BM MSC were positive for CD90, CD44, and CD105; all cell lines were negative for haematopoietic markers such as CD34, CD14, and CD45. Although marker CD73 expresses reaction in other studies involving MSC in different species, it did not cross-react with equine AT and BM MSC. Results obtained revealed the immunophenotypic characterisation of the surface of isolated and cultivated MSC, classifying these cells as a promising type of progenitor cells that can be applied in equine cellular therapy.

Sympathetic innervation of the ileocecal junction in horses

The distribution and chemical phenotypes of sympathetic and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons innervating the equine ileocecal junction (ICJ) were studied by combining retrograde tracing and immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactivity (IR) for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP), and neuropeptide Y (NPY) was investigated. Sympathetic neurons projecting to the ICJ were distributed within the celiac (CG), cranial mesenteric (CranMG), and caudal mesenteric (CaudMG) ganglia, as well as in the last ganglia of the thoracic sympathetic chain and in the splanchnic ganglia. In the CG and CranMG 91 +/- 8% and 93 +/- 12% of the neurons innervating the ICJ expressed TH- and DBH-IR, respectively. In the CaudMG 90 +/- 15% and 94 +/- 5% of ICJ innervating neurons were TH- and DBH-IR, respectively. Sympathetic (TH-IR) fibers innervated the myenteric and submucosal ganglia, ileal blood vessels, and the muscle layers. They were more concentrated at the ICJ level and were also seen encircling myenteric plexus (MP) and submucosal plexus (SMP) descending neurons that were retrogradely labeled from the ICJ. Among the few retrogradely labeled DRG neurons, nNOS-, CGRP-, and SP-IR nerve cells were observed. Dense networks of CGRP-, nNOS-, and SP-IR varicosities were seen around retrogradely labeled prevertebral ganglia neurons. The CGRP-IR fibers are probably the endings of neurons projecting from the intestine to the prevertebral ganglia. These findings indicate that this crucial region of the intestinal tract is strongly influenced by the sympathetic system and that sensory information of visceral origin influences the sympathetic control of the ICJ.

Thymofibrolipoma in two dogs

Thymolipomas are unusual benign neoplasms composed of mature adipose and thymic tissue that represent less than 10% of all thymic tumours in man. A thymofibrolipoma is a histological variant of thymolipoma in which there is an additional abundance of fibrous connective tissue. Thymolipoma has been reported previously in one dog and one cat, but thymofibrolipoma has never been described. This report documents the clinical and pathological features of two cases of canine thymofibrolipoma.

Mechanoreceptors in the medial and lateral glenohumeral ligaments of the canine shoulder joint

In order to have a better understanding of the role of ligaments in canine shoulder joint stability, the presence of mechanoreceptors in the medial (MGHL) and lateral (LGHL) glenohumeral ligaments was detected by means of a modified gold chloride stain. Three morphologically distinct mechanoreceptors were identified: Ruffini receptors (type I endings), Pacinian corpuscles (type II endings) and Golgi tendon organ-like receptors (type III endings). These receptors are mainly localized at each end of the ligaments and are prevalently in their glenoid portion. In particular, in the MGHL the highest density was at the cranial arm of the insertion into the scapula. The variety of mechanoreceptors in canine shoulder ligaments might indicate an afferent function in providing the CNS with joint proprioceptive information. Therefore, besides acting as passive mechanical stabilizers, the MGHL and the LGHL may serve as sensory structures, contributing actively to joint stability. Ligamentous injuries which occur in shoulders not only affect mechanical restraint but also alter the proprioceptive input to the CNS by means of disruption of the mechanoreceptors.

Phase I clinical trial with the AMC-bioartificial liver

Recently a bio-artificial liver (BAL) system has been developed at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of Amsterdam to bridge patients with acute liver failure (ALF) to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). After successful testing of the AMC-BAL in rodents and pigs with ALF, a phase I study in ALF patients waiting for (OLT) was started in Italy. We present the safety outcome of the first 7 patients aged 21-56 years with coma grade III or IV The total AMC-BAL treatment time ranged from 8 to 35 hours. Three patients received 2 treatments with two different BAL's within three days. Six of the 7 patients were successfully bridged to OLT. One patient showed improved liver function after two treatments and did not need OLT. No severe adverse events of the BAL treatment were noted.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of ALF patients with the AMC-BAL is a safe and feasible technique to bridge the waiting time for an adequate liver-graft.