Outcome of superficial keratectomy without conjunctival graft as a surgical technique for immune‐mediated keratitis in horses: Four cases

This case report describes four horses with unilateral superficial or mid-stromal immune-mediated keratitis (IMMK) treated with a superficial keratectomy (SK) without a conjunctival graft. In two horses, the surgery was performed under general anaesthesia, and in two horses standing with sedation and local blocks. Results of this report show that SK is a viable treatment option in horses with chronic superficial and/or mid-stromal IMMK that can even be performed in the standing, sedated horse. When sufficient corneal tissue is removed, no recurrence is to be expected in the long-term follow-up (up to 31 months). In two horses, healing occurred without complications. Two horses developed a secondary bacterial infection post-operatively (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus). In one case, this resulted in a pre-perforating melting corneal ulcer necessitating conjunctival pedicle graft surgery 13 days post keratectomy. In three horses, there was no recurrence of the IMMK with a long-term follow-up of 6–31 months. One case showed recurrence of IMMK in the cornea region surrounding the keratectomy 9 months after surgery

Geometrical models for cardiac MRI in rodents: comparison of quantification of left ventricular volumes and function by various geometrical models with a full-volume MRI data set in rodents.

van de Weijer T, van Ewijk PA, Zandbergen HR, Slenter JM, Kessels AG, Wildberger JE, Hesselink MK, Schrauwen P, Schrauwen-Hinderling VB, Kooi ME. Geometrical models for cardiac MRI in rodents: comparison of quantification of left ventricular volumes and function by various geometrical models with a full-volume MRI data set in rodents. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 302: H709-H715, 2012. First published November 18, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00710.2011.-MRI has been proven to be an accurate method for noninvasive assessment of cardiac function. One of the current limitations of cardiac MRI is that it is time consuming. Therefore, various geometrical models are used, which can reduce scan and postprocessing time. It is unclear how appropriate their use is in rodents. Left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) were quantified based on 7.0 Tesla cine-MRI in 12 wild-type (WT) mice, 12 adipose triglyceride lipase knockout (ATGL(-/-)) mice (model of impaired cardiac function), and 11 rats in which we induced cardiac ischemia. The LV volumes and function were either assessed with parallel short-axis slices covering the full volume of the left ventricle (FV, gold standard) or with various geometrical models [modified Simpson rule (SR), biplane ellipsoid (BP), hemisphere cylinder (HC), single-plane ellipsoid (SP), and modified Teichholz Formula (TF)]. Reproducibility of the different models was tested and results were correlated with the gold standard (FV). All models and the FV data set provided reproducible results for the LV volumes and EF, with interclass correlation coefficients >= 0.87. All models significantly over-or underestimated EF, except for SR. Good correlation was found for all volumes and EF for the SR model compared with the FV data set (R-2 ranged between 0.59-0.95 for all parameters). The HC model and BP model also predicted EF well (R-2 >= 0.85), although proved to be less useful for quantitative analysis. The SP and TF models correlated poorly with the FV data set (R-2 >= 0.45 for EF and R-2 >= 0.29 for EF, respectively). For the reduction in acquisition and postprocessing time, only the SR model proved to be a valuable method for calculating LV volumes, stroke volume, and EF

Non-invasive diode laser, an effective and safe treatment of iris cysts in 46 eyes of 35 horses

Background: Iris cysts in horses are often asymptomatic and noticed incidentally. However, cysts can cause local corneal oedema and erratic behaviour like shying, decreased performance and head-shaking. Objectives: To describe the use of diode laser as a noninvasive treatment option for iris cysts in the horse and to document factors influencing its efficacy, associated complications, long-term outcome and rate of recurrence. Study design: Retrospective case series. Methods: Case records of horses treated for iris cysts by diode laser at the Utrecht University Equine Clinic were reviewed between 2008 and 2020. Diagnosis was based on ophthalmic and ultrasonographic evaluation. Long-term follow-up was obtained in two phases, a telephone survey with the owner and a photographic re-evaluation of the treated eyes. Results: Thirty-five horses were included, with a total of 46 eyes treated. One day after diode laser treatment (short-term), 35/46 treated eyes had a good decrease in cyst size, 7/46 had a moderate effect, 1/46 had a minimal effect, 1/46 had no effect, and in two cases the effect was unspecified. The decrease in size after diode laser treatment in polycystic eyes (odds ratio [OR] 0.381, 95% CI 0.1530–0.724), p = 0.001), thick-walled cysts (OR = 0.139; CI = 0.023–0.726, p = 0.02) and hyperplastic corpora nigra (OR = 0.081; CI = 0.004–0.528, p = 0.03) was significantly less satisfactory, with ORs of 0.381, 0.139 and 0.081, respectively. Minor complications, such as mild reactive uveitis, were reported in 8/46 (17%) eyes. On long-term follow-up (median 19 months; IQR 25.5), clinical signs had diminished or disappeared in most cases (93%) and 83% of the owners would recommend the treatment. Based on long-term photographic re-evaluation (median 32.5 months; IQR 49.75), 2/16 cases of recurrence were seen. Main limitations: Retrospective design, follow-up by telephone questionnaire and photographic re-evaluation. Loss to follow-up in the photographic re-evaluation. Conclusions: Both short- and long-term results indicate diode laser treatment is a useful and safe option for iris cyst size reduction, with a low risk of recurrence. Presurgical ultrasonography is recommended to assess the feasibility of treatment and to allow for better surgical planning

Penetration of topically administered dexamethasone disodium phosphate and prednisolone acetate into the normal equine ocular fluids

Background: Topical dexamethasone and prednisolone are currently the mainstay treatment for equine ophthalmic inflammatory diseases, such as equine recurrent uveitis. Comparative pharmacokinetic studies in horses are lacking and current guidelines are mainly based on empirical data and extrapolation from other species. Objectives: To investigate the penetration and local concentrations of topically applied dexamethasone and prednisolone in normal equine ocular fluids and serum. Study design: Prospective randomised experimental pharmacokinetic study. Methods: Twenty-one Shetland ponies without ophthalmic disease were treated bilaterally topically every 2 hours during 24 hours to obtain steady state drug concentrations. One eye was treated with 0.15 mg of dexamethasone disodium phosphate (0.1%), and the other eye was simultaneously treated with 1.5 mg of prednisolone acetate (1%). Serum samples were taken prior to the induction of general anaesthesia. Aqueous and vitreous humour samples were taken during euthanasia at time points after administration of the last dose (t = 5 min, t = 15 min, t = 30 min, t = 60 min, t = 90 min, t = 120 min, t = 180 min). Each pony was randomly assigned to one time point, and three ponies were sampled per time point. Dexamethasone and prednisolone concentrations were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The mean dexamethasone concentration in aqueous humour was 32.4 ng/mL (standard deviation [SD] 10.9) and the mean prednisolone concentration was 321.6 ng/mL (SD 96.0). In the vitreous and in serum samples concentrations of both corticosteroids were below the limit of detection (LOD 2.5 ng/mL). Main limitations: The study group was limited to subjects without evidence of current ophthalmic disease. A limited number of time points were measured. Conclusions: Potentially effective dexamethasone and prednisolone concentrations were measured in the anterior chamber, but vitreal concentrations were negligible. Systemic uptake was low. Therefore, treatment with only topically administered corticosteroids is deemed insufficient in horses in cases of posterior uveitis. Further studies evaluating other routes of administration are warranted

Proteomics: Clinical and research applications in respiratory diseases

The proteome is the study of the protein content of a definable component of an organism in biology. However, the tissue‐specific expression of proteins and the varied post‐translational modifications, splice variants and protein–protein complexes that may form, make the study of protein a challenging yet vital tool in answering many of the unanswered questions in medicine and biology to date. Indeed, the spatial, temporal and functional composition of proteins in the human body has proven difficult to elucidate for many years. Given the effect of microRNA and epigenetic regulation on silencing and enhancing gene transcription, the study of protein arguably provides more accurate information on homeostasis and perturbation in health and disease. There have been significant advances in the field of proteomics in recent years, with new technologies and platforms available to the research community. In this review, we briefly discuss some of these new technologies and developments in the context of respiratory disease. We also discuss the types of data science approaches to analyses and interpretation of the large volumes of data generated in proteomic studies. We discuss the application of these technologies with regard to respiratory disease and highlight the potential for proteomics in generating major advances in the understanding of respiratory pathophysiology into the future.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146450/1/resp13383_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146450/2/resp13383.pd

Genome-scale mechanistic modeling of signaling pathways made easy: a Bioconductor / cytoscape / web server framework for the analysis of omic data

Genome-scale mechanistic models of pathways are gaining importance for genomic data interpretation because they provide a natural link between genotype measurements (transcriptomics or genomics data) and the phenotype of the cell (its functional behavior). Moreover, mechanistic models can be used to predict the potential effect of interventions, including drug inhibitions. Here, we present the implementation of a mechanistic model of cell signaling for the interpretation of transcriptomic data as an R/Bioconductor package, a Cytoscape plugin and a web tool with enhanced functionality which includes building interpretable predictors, estimation of the effect of perturbations and assessment of the effect of mutations in complex scenarios