Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by chamber dilation and cardiac dysfunction. Because of the poor prognosis, models are needed for the investigation of and development of new therapeutic approaches, as well as stem cell therapy. Doxorubicin (DOX), used as chemotherapeutic agent, is reported to be cumulative cardiotoxic causing DCM. The aim of the study was to investigate the onset of systolic dysfunction using echocardiography in rabbits receiving two different doses of DOX (1mg/kg twice a week and 2 mg/kg once a week). Twenty rabbits were treated with doxorubicin in two different doses for 6 weeks and compared with a control group treated with NaCl 0.9%. The effect of doxorubicin on the myocardium was investigated with histological analysis and scanning electron microscopy of left ventricle (LV), as well as in the interventricular septum (IVS) and right ventricle (RV). The results showed a high mortality rate for rabbits receiving 2 mg/kg once a week. A significant reduction in systolic function was present in animals treated with DOX after 6 weeks, with decreased ejection fraction and shortening fraction. Histology and electron microscopy revealed vacuolization, intracytoplasmic granulation, necrosis and interstitial fibrosis in LV, as well as in the IVS and RV. Doxorubicin induced changes are present in the LV, RV and IVS, and the administration at the dose of 1 mg/kg twice a week for only 6 weeks is safe and sufficient to induce DCM in rabbits.

Contents Sperm vitrification as alternative to conventional freezing is increasing in popularity in many species. It has been achieved by direct exposure of diluted semen to liquid nitrogen in spheres or straws. Both techniques have been successfully developed, but they had not been compared yet in donkeys. The aim of this study was to compare these two methods of vitrification for donkey semen. Ejaculates from six Andalusian donkeys were collected and extended in Gent without glycerol supplemented with sucrose 0.1 M (Molar). Samples were slowly cooled at 5°C. For vitrification, 30 μl suspensions (spheres) were dropped directly into liquid nitrogen (LN2) or filled in covered 0.25 ml straws and then plunged into the LN2 (straws). For warming, straws and spheres were directly immersed in 3 ml of INRA‐96 at 43°C. Total (TM, %) and progressive motility (PM, %) were objectively evaluated by computer‐assisted sperm analysis and plasma membrane integrity (PMI, %) by epifluorescence microscopy. Results showed the straw method resulted in significantly higher values than spheres for: TM (54.7% ± 10.1 vs. 28.6% ± 6.5) and PM (44.2% ± 9.4 vs. 17.7% ± 6.4), but no significant differences were found between straws or spheres for PMI (31.5 ± 10.7 vs. 41.6 ± 14.3) respectively. In conclusion, donkey sperm could be vitrified in straws obtaining better sperm motility parameters after warming in comparison to the sphere method.

Obesity is the most common nutritional problem in dogs and it can cause various harmful effects on animal health. However, the effect of this condition on systolic blood pressure (SBP) in obese dogs is controversial. The indirect method of measuring PAS is the most commonly used in veterinary medicine for the diagnosis of systemic hypertension, because it is more practical and easy to access. There is little scientific information about the comparison of the two non-invasive methods of measurement of blood pressure in obese dogs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the SBP in obese dogs by comparing both indirect methods of measuring blood pressure, with oscillometric and doppler vascular in order to verify the differences in blood pressure values, but also the best method to assess the SBP dogs in this body score condition. The study complain blood pressure measurement of 50 dogs, with were divided in obese dogs with mean body condition score (BCS) of 8.42±0.50 (n=25) and dogs with ideal BCS of 4.56±0.51 (n=25). At comparison of blood pressure values, SBP values obtained by doppler method (152±16mmHg) were higher than the oscillometric (136±11mmHg). Correspondence analysis determined by multivariate statistical analysis showed correlation between body condition and the procedure of the SBP. These findings suggest that the indirect method doppler can better reflect the SBP in obese dogs.INDEX TERMS: Obesity, canine, hypertension, indirect method.

Precise non-invasive localisation of the site of a small ventricular septal defect was attempted using a new technique that simultaneously combines conventional cross sectional echocardiography with a Doppler system by superimposing the colour coded direction and velocity of blood flow directly on to real time ultrasound images. Twenty three patients with unoperated ventricular septal defects and a further eight after surgical closure were studied; 12 children with normal hearts served as controls. A colour coded blood flow jet entering the right ventricle during systole was identified in all 23 unoperated patients, in 11 of whom the defect was too small to be visualised by conventional cross sectional echocardiography. The colour Doppler technique precisely located 19 perimembranous and five trabecular defects (one patient had two defects). Five of the postoperative patients were without clinical evidence of a significant shunt but had pansystolic murmurs. In each of these five, trans-septal shunt blood flow as demonstrated by colour Doppler images whereas in only three of these patients was the residual defect large enough to be visualised by conventional cross sectional echocardiography. Three postoperative patients had no murmurs and showed no residual shunt on colour Doppler images. This was confirmed at cardiac catheterisation. There were no false positive results among the controls. This technique is useful for the more accurate diagnosis and location of ventricular septal defects and may help in assessing their natural or surgical closure.

Avaliaram-se os efeitos nos parâmetros ventilométricos e hemogasométricos em cadelas submetidas à ovário-histerectomia (OHE), pré-medicadas com tramadol ou morfina e anestesiadas com isofluorano. Utilizaram-se 12 cadelas sem raça definida (SRD), divididas em dois grupos (n= 6 para cada grupo), todas com indução anestésica com propofol e manutenção com isofluorano em O 2 a 100%, sendo que a diferença entre os grupos se deu pela pré-medicação com tramadol (GT-4mg/kg IM) ou morfina (GM-0,4 mg/kg IM). As observações das variáveis iniciaram-se 30 minutos após a administração do bolus de propofol (M0). As demais colheitas dos dados foram realizadas em intervalos de 15 minutos, por um período de 60 minutos (M15, M30, M45 e M60, respectivamente). Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os grupos ou momentos para as variáveis hemogasométricas, entretanto, as médias de pH, déficit de base (DB) e pressão parcial de dióxido de carbono no sangue arterial (PaCO 2) ficaram fora da faixa normal para a espécie canina. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas para as variáveis: volume corrente (GM > GT de M0 a M60), pico de fluxo inspiratório e expiratório (GM > GT) e pressão de pico inspiratório, sendo que GM foi maior que GT em M0. Concluiu-se que ambos os opioides são seguros, não causando alterações importantes na ventilometria quando utilizados na pré-medicação em cadelas anestesiadas com isofluorano e submetidas à OHE, porém, a anestesia inalatória com isofluorano deve ser utilizada com cautela em animais com propensão à acidemia.