Efficacy of long-term oral telmisartan treatment in cats with hypertension: Results of a prospective European clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Efficacy of telmisartan in treating hypertension (HT) in cats has not been largely investigated. OBJECTIVE: Telmisartan oral solution effectively controls systolic arterial blood pressure (SABP) in hypertensive cats. ANIMALS: Two-hundred eighty-five client-owned cats with systemic HT. METHODS: Prospective, multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blinded study. Hypertensive cats diagnosed with SABP ≥160 mmHg and ≤200 mmHg without target-organ-damage were randomized (2 : 1 ratio) to receive 2 mg/kg telmisartan or placebo q24 PO. A 28-day efficacy phase was followed by a 120-day extended use phase. Efficacy was defined as significant difference in mean SABP reduction between telmisartan and placebo on Day 14 and group mean reduction in SABP of > 20 mmHg by telmisartan on Day 28 compared to baseline. RESULTS: Two-hundred fifty-two cats completed the efficacy and 144 cats the extended use phases. Mean SABP reduction at Day 14 differed significantly between groups (P < .001). Telmisartan reduced baseline SABP of 179 mmHg by 19.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.92-22.52) and 24.6 (95% CI: 21.11-28.14) mmHg at Days 14 and 28. The placebo group baseline SABP of 177 mmHg was reduced by 9.0 (95% CI: 5.30-12.80) and 11.4 (95% CI: 7.94-14.95) mmHg, respectively. Of note, 52% of telmisartan-treated cats had SABP <150 mmHg at Day 28. Mean SABP reduction by telmisartan in severe (≥180 mmHg) and moderate HT (160-179 mmHg) was comparable and persistent over time. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Telmisartan solution (PO) was effective in reducing SABP in hypertensive cats with SABP ≥160 mmHg and ≤200 mmHg

Evaluation of an Electrolyte Analyser for Measurement of Concentrations of Ionized Calcium and Magnesium in Cats

The goal of this study was to evaluate the Nova CRT 8 electrolyte analyser for determination of concentrations of ionized calcium (Cai) and magnesium (Mgi) in cats, todetermine the effects of sample handling and storage and to establish reference ranges. The precision and analytical accuracy of the Nova CRT 8 analyser were good. The concentrations of Cai and Mgi were significantly lower in aerobically handled serum samples than in those handled anaerobically. The concentrations of Cai and Mgi differed significantly among whole blood, plasma and serum. In anaerobically handled serum, the concentration of Cai was stable for 8 h at 22°C, for 5 days at 4°C and for 1 week at −20°C. The concentration of Mgi was stable for 4 h at 22°C but for less than 24 h at 4°C and for less than 1 week at −20°C. In serum from 36 cats, the reference ranges were 1.20-1.35 mmol/L for Cai and 0.47-0.59 mmol/L for Mgi. The Nova CRT 8 electrolyte analyser is suitable for determination of Cai and Mgi concentrations in cats. Anaerobically handled serum samples are recommended and, stored at room temperature, they yield accurate results when analysed within 4

Clinical presentation, echocardiographic findings, treatment strategies, and prognosis of dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease presented with pericardial effusion due to suspected left atrial tear: a retrospective case-control study

Introduction/objectives: Left atrial tear (LAT) is a life-threatening complication in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). The study objective was to describe clinical presentation, echocardiographic findings, treatment strategies, and survival in dogs with LAT compared to a control group of dogs with a similar stage of MMVD but no LAT. ANIMALS AND MATERIALS AND METHODS: two-center retrospective case-controlled study including 15 dogs with and 15 dogs without LAT was conducted. Clinical and echocardiographic data were reviewed, and survival information were collected. Results: Nine dogs in each group were in stage C of MMVD, while the remaining were in stage B2. No differences between groups were found regarding age, body weight, sex, kidney values, and echocardiography-derived cardiac dimensions. Most reported clinical signs associated with LAT included weakness, respiratory signs, and syncope. Treatment varied and was mainly focused on the management of congestive heart failure. Three dogs with LAT received a pericardiocentesis. All 15 dogs with LAT had died of cardiac causes, 5 dogs during the first 7 days after admission. The median survival time for all 15 dogs with LAT was 52 days compared to 336 days in the control group (P=0.103). When excluding 5 dogs with LAT that died during the first 7 days, the median survival increased to 407 days, not different compared to the control group (P=0.549). Conclusions: Dogs with MMVD and LAT have a high short-term mortality; however, when surviving the acute phase, the long-term prognosis may not differ from dogs with a similarly advanced degree of MMVD but without LAT

Long-term palliation of right-sided congestive heart failure after stenting a recurrent cor triatriatum dexter in a 10½-year-old pug.

A 10½-year-old, male neutered, pug presented with increasing ascites over two months. Echocardiography revealed cor triatriatum dexter with no concurrent cardiovascular anomalies, subsequently confirmed by computed tomography angiography. Balloon dilation of the perforated intra-atrial membrane under fluoroscopic guidance resulted in the transient resolution of all clinical abnormalities, but six months later stenosis and ascites recurred. After repeated balloon dilation, a stent was placed across the membrane. The dog remains asymptomatic fourteen months after the second procedure. One noteworthy feature of this case is the onset of congestive heart failure due to a congenital defect only at more than 10 years of age

Rapport final du projet européen CatClay sur les processus de migration des cations dans les roches argileuses indurées

International audienceIn the framework of the feasibility studies on the radioactive waste disposal in deep argillaceous formations, it isnow well established that the transport properties of solutes in clay rocks, i.e. parameter values for Fick’s law, are mainlygoverned by the negatively charged clay mineral surface. While a good understanding of the diffusive behaviour of non-reactiveanionic and neutral species is now achieved, much effort has to be placed on improving understanding of coupledsorption/diffusion phenomena for sorbing cations. Indeed, several cations known to form highly stable surface complexes withsites on mineral surfaces migrate more deeply into clay rock than expected. Therefore, the overall objective of the EC CatClayproject is to address this issue, using a ‘bottom-up’ approach, in which simpler, analogous systems (here a compacted clay,‘pure’ illite) are experimentally studied and modelled, and then the transferability of these results to more complex materials, i.e.the clay rocks under consideration in France, Switzerland and Belgium for hosting radioactive waste disposal facilities, isverified. The cations of interest were chosen for covering a representative range of cations families: from a moderately sorbingcation, the strontium, to three strongly sorbing cations, Co(II), Zn(II) and Eu(III). For the 4 years of this project, much effort wasdevoted to developing and applying specific experimental methods needed for acquiring the high precision, reliable data neededto test the alternative hypotheses represented by different conceptual-numerical models. The enhanced diffusion of the sorbingcations of interest was confirmed both in the simpler analogous illite system for Sr2+, Co(II) and Zn(II), but also in the naturalclay rocks, except for Eu(III). First modelling approach including diffusion in the diffuse double layer (DDL) promisinglysucceeded in reproducing the experimental data under the various conditions both in illite and clay rocks, even though someassumptions made have to be verified. In parallel, actual 3D geometrical pore size distributions of compacted illite, and in lessextent, clay rock samples, were successfully determined by combining TEM and FIB-nt analyses on materials maintained in awater-like saturation state by means of an extensive impregnation step. Based on this spatial distribution of pores, first numericaldiffusion experiments were carried at the pore scale through virtual illite, enabling a better understanding of how transferpathways are organized in the porous media. Finally, the EC CatClay project allowed a better understanding of the migration ofstrongly sorbing tracers through low permeability ‘clay rock’ formations, increasing confidence in our capacity to demonstratethat the models used to predict radionuclide migration through these rocks are scientifically sound

Heisenberg Spin Chains: Quantum-Classical Crossover and the Haldane Conjecture

A comprehensive investigation has been made of the spectral excitations and static properties of Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chains of spin 1/2, 1, 3/2, and 2, using Lanczös, Bethe Ansatz, and Monte Carlo techniques. An unusual and unanticipated crossover mechanism for spin chains with 1/2≤S≤∞ has been discovered. The validity of the Haldane conjecture concerning the presence of a spectral excitation gap for integer‐spin chains has been investigated by exact finite chains calculations of (a) the primary singlet‐triplet excitation gap, (b) higher excitation gaps, and (c) the Fourier transform of the ground statecorrelation functions. A new Monte Carlo method has extended the spin‐1 gap calculations to N=32

Correlation functions in the two-dimensional random-field Ising model

Transfer-matrix methods are used to study the probability distributions of spin-spin correlation functions $G$ in the two-dimensional random-field Ising model, on long strips of width $L = 3 - 15$ sites, for binary field distributions at generic distance $R$, temperature $T$ and field intensity $h_0$. For moderately high $T$, and $h_0$ of the order of magnitude used in most experiments, the distributions are singly-peaked, though rather asymmetric. For low temperatures the single-peaked shape deteriorates, crossing over towards a double-$\delta$ ground-state structure. A connection is obtained between the probability distribution for correlation functions and the underlying distribution of accumulated field fluctuations. Analytical expressions are in good agreement with numerical results for $R/L \gtrsim 1$, low $T$, $h_0$ not too small, and near G=1. From a finite-size {\it ansatz} at $T=T_c (h_0=0)$, $h_0 \to 0$, averaged correlation functions are predicted to scale with $L^y h_0$, $y =7/8$. From numerical data we estimate y=0.875 \pm 0.025$, in excellent agreement with theory. In the same region, the RMS relative width$W$of the probability distributions varies for fixed$R/L=1$as$W \sim h_0^{\kappa} f(L h_0^u)$with$\kappa \simeq 0.45$,$u \simeq 0.8$;$f(x)$appears to saturate when$x \to \infty$, thus implying$W \sim h_0^{\kappa}$in$d=2$.Comment: RevTeX code for 8 pages, 7 eps figures, to appear in Physical Review E (1999

Clinical, laboratory and pathological findings in cats experimentally infected with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Aelurostrongylus abstrusus parasitizes the respiratory tract and can heavily affect the breathing and general condition of cats. Experimental infections of six cats were initiated by intragastric administration with 100 or 800 third-stage larvae (L3) obtained from the terrestrial snail Helix aspersa. First-stage larvae were isolated from faecal samples after 35-41days post infection (dpi) in five animals and until end of study (84dpi) in two cats. Cough and respiratory sounds were observed starting from 28 to 41dpi and dyspnoea and panting starting from 52dpi. All cats had enlarged lymph nodes and, starting from 56dpi, reduced body weight, and four cats showed intermittent reduced general condition with apathia and anorexia. Eosinophilia and leucocytosis partially with massive lymphocytosis, and occasional basophilia and monocytosis were observed. Mild anaemia was present in five cats, while alterations in coagulation parameters suggested stimulation of the coagulation cascade with increased consumption of coagulation factors (delayed PT, hypofibrinogenemia). Adult A. abstrusus specimens were isolated from the five patent cats at necropsy and all six cats showed pathological changes in the lungs, including disseminated inflammatory cell infiltrates, often associated with incorporated larvae and eggs. There was some degree of overlap between the severity and the inoculation doses. Infections starting from 100 L3 of A. abstrusus had an impact on the lung tissues and on the health of the cats, despite the presence of only mild haematological abnormalities. Due to the worldwide occurrence of feline lung worms, parasitic infections should be considered in the differential diagnosis of lung diseases regardless of the presence of clinical signs and larval excretion

Evidence for softening of first-order transition in 3D by quenched disorder

We study by extensive Monte Carlo simulations the effect of random bond dilution on the phase transition of the three-dimensional 4-state Potts model which is known to exhibit a strong first-order transition in the pure case. The phase diagram in the dilution-temperature plane is determined from the peaks of the susceptibility for sufficiently large system sizes. In the strongly disordered regime, numerical evidence for softening to a second-order transition induced by randomness is given. Here a large-scale finite-size scaling analysis, made difficult due to strong crossover effects presumably caused by the percolation fixed point, is performed.Comment: LaTeX file with Revtex, 4 pages, 4 eps figure