Evaluation of the occurrence of canine congenital sensorineural deafness in puppies of predisposed dog breeds using the brainstem auditory evoked response

Canine congenital sensorineural deafness (CCSD) affects predisposed breeds of dogs and is primarily caused by an atrophy of the stria vascularis of the organ of Corti. The analysis of the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) is a reliable method for the evaluation of hearing in animals as it allows an accurate detection of unilateral or bilateral deafness. The occurrence of unilateral and bilateral deafness using the BAER was determined in a representative group of dogs in Poland, including Bull Terriers (n = 117), Australian Cattle Dogs (n = 62), English Setters (n = 32) and the Dogo Argentino (n = 32). Overall deafness, deafness in each dog breed and an association between deafness and phenotype were studied. Among the 243 dogs tested, 156 (81%) had a normal BAER, 27 (11%) were unilaterally deaf, and 12 (5%) were bilaterally deaf. The amplitudes and latencies of waves I, II, III, V, the V/I wave amplitude ratio, and wave I–V, I–III and III–V inter-peak intervals were recorded for each dog. Unilaterally and bilaterally deaf dogs were present in all the dog breeds studied. There were 17 (14.5%) deaf Bull Terriers, three (4.8%) deaf Australian Cattle Dogs, seven (21.9%) deaf English Setters, and 12 (37.5%) deaf Dogos Argentinos. Preventive BAER screening should be routinely performed in these four breeds to prevent the spread of genes responsible for deafness

Biomarkers of injury to neural tissue in veterinary medicine

There are numerous biomarkers of central and peripheral nervous system damage described in human and veterinary medicine. Many of these are already used as tools in the diagnosis of human neurological disorders, and many are investigated in regard to their use in small and large animal veterinary medicine. The following review presents the current knowledge about the application of cell-type (glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilament subunit NF-H, myelin basic protein) and central nervous system specific proteins (S100B, neuron specific enolase, tau protein, alpha II spectrin, ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1, creatine kinase BB) present in the cerebrospinal fluid and/or serum of animals in the diagnosis of central or peripheral nervous system damage in veterinary medicine

Effect of dissection on the mechanical properties of human ascending aorta and human ascending aorta aneurysm

The aim of the presented work is to determine (i) mechanical properties of the ascending aorta wall (DAA) and the wall of the ascending aortic aneurysm (DAAA), in which spontaneous dissection resulting from the evolving disease occurred, and (ii) the strength of the interface between the layers in the above-mentioned vessels. Methods: The mechanical tests were divided into two steps. In the first step the mechanical properties of the of DAA and DAAA walls were examined on the basis of uniaxial stretching until rapture. In the next step the mechanical parameters of the interface between layers of DAA and DAAA walls were determined by the peeling test. Results: Higher values of tensile strength (max) and Young’s modulus (E) were obtained for the DAAA group, to which the dissecting wall of the ascending aortic aneurysm was classified. For circumferential samples, the difference between the DAAA and DAA groups was 39% in the case of tensile strength and 70% in the case of the Young’s modulus. Conclusions: Summarizing, the studies performed showed that the dissection process is different in the case of the ascending aortic aneurysm wall and the ascending aorta wall. The wall of the ascending aortic aneurysm is more susceptible to dissection, as evidenced by lower values of the mechanical parameters of the interface between the intima and the media-adventitia complex. The obtained results of mechanical properties tests confirm that dissection and aneurysm should be treated as separate disease entities that may coexist with each other