Borreliosis or Lyme disease is a zoonotic tick-borne disease found in various parts of the world.
Vaccination for this condition is controversial, with reports of efficacy of vaccines ranging from 50% to 100%. This systematic review and meta-analysis by Vogt et al1 aimed to determine the efficacy of vaccines for prevention of borreliosis in dogs in North America.
For this research, 3 observational studies and 13 challenge trials were included. Clinical signs assessed were lameness, anorexia, pyrexia, depression and lymphadenopathy, and a meta-analysis was performed on the first four of these signs.
Vaccinated dogs were less likely than unvaccinated dogs to develop lameness, anorexia, pyrexia or depression after exposure, with odds ratios ranging from 0.15 to 0.23.
The authors concluded vaccinated dogs were less likely to develop clinical signs after exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi than unvaccinated dogs. However, the authors noted shortcomings with study design and quality existed, and recommended further studies were needed focusing on larger samples in field conditions.
Hypothyroidism treated with levothyroxine behaviour effects
Hypothyroidism has been linked to a range of clinical, dermatological, neurological and behavioural problems, and thyroid hormone supplementation for the treatment of aggressive behavioural problems has been recommended. However, evidence for this recommendation is lacking.
Hrovat et al2 performed a prospective study to assess whether levothyroxine supplementation has a significant effect on behaviour and the neurohormonal status of dogs with hypothyroidism.
A total of 20 dogs were enrolled into the study. The patients were screened with a standardised behavioural questionnaire at initial presentation, and six weeks and six months after initiating treatment with levothyroxine. Circulating serotonin and prolactin concentrations were measured at each assessment.
Although an increase in activity was noted after six weeks of treatment, no changes in behaviour were noted by six months. No significant changes in prolactin or serotonin were noted.
The authors concluded supplementing hypothyroid dogs with levothyroxine did not change the neurohormonal status or the examined behavioural signs.
DCM in Irish wolfhounds
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is common in Irish wolfhounds.
Vollmar et al3 performed a retrospective study to assess the clinical findings, life expectancy and causes of death in Irish wolfhounds diagnosed with DCM. The cardiovascular examinations of 151 Irish wolfhounds, including echocardiography and ECG, were evaluated in the study.
The dogs were classified into one of three groups: preclinical DCM with sinus rhythm; preclinical DCM with atrial fibrillation (AF); and DCM with congestive heart failure (CHF) and AF. Chylous pleural effusions and mild pericardial effusions were often present in dogs with CHF.
In total, 73 out of 151 dogs in the study died of cardiac causes and 62 of non-cardiac causes. At the end of the study, 16 dogs were still alive. However, after development of heart failure, almost 90% of the dogs died of cardiac causes.
The median survival time in dogs with CHF was 7.3 months, which was significantly shorter than the preclinical dogs with DCM and AF at 21.9 months, or with DCM and sinus rhythm at 29 months.
The authors concluded DCM with CHF and AF is associated with a reduced life expectancy in Irish wolfhounds, but that most Irish Wolfhounds with preclinical DCM died from non-cardiac causes.
Acute kidney injury in dogs with acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is a common life-threatening condition in veterinary medicine. In human medicine, it is often associated with acute kidney injury.
Gori et al4 performed a study aimed at evaluating how prevalent acute kidney injury is in dogs with acute pancreatitis, and to assess whether clinicopathological parameters have prognostic value in these cases.
Acute pancreatitis was diagnosed by a combination of an abnormal SNAP canine pancreas-specific lipase (cPL) test and at least two typical clinical signs, such as vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and anorexia, as well as exclusion of other non-pancreatic disease by abdominal ultrasound.
Acute kidney injury was diagnosed according to International Renal Interest Society guidelines. A total of 65 dogs were included in the study.
A high clinical severity index was associated with reduced chance of survival. Urea and creatinine levels were higher at admission for the dogs that didn’t survive, and the presence of acute kidney injury, which affected 26% of the cases, was associated with a poorer chance of survival. Oliguria or anuria was also associated with a poorer outcome.
The authors concluded acute kidney injury may be a comorbity of acute pancreatitis in dogs and is associated with a poorer prognosis.
Canine GME risk factors
Granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME) is a serious inflammatory neurological disease of unknown aetiology.
Barnes Heller et al5 performed a case control study of 31 dogs with a histological diagnosis of GME, compared to 91 non-GME dogs matched by age and breed to investigate risk factors for the disease.
Home address, signalment, bodyweight and body condition score, vaccination history and date of visit/diagnosis were obtained from medical records. Human population density was estimated from the home address and seasonality was also evaluated.
No significant differences between case and control dogs were identified between the seasons, although spring was a more common time for the diagnosis. No differences existed between case and control dogs with regards to age, bodyweight, body condition score, season of diagnosis/visit, human population density or time since last vaccination.
The authors did not identify any significant environmental or other factors that increased the risk of GME in this study.
AGASACA in cats
Apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinomas (AGASACA) are commonly diagnosed in dogs and often associated with hypercalcaemia in this species.
Amsellem et al6 produced a retrospective case series study into 30 cats with AGASACA that were treated with surgical excision of the tumour. Perineal ulceration or discharge was the most common clinical sign noted.
In total, 11 of the cats had local recurrence with a median time to local recurrence of 96 days after excision. Incomplete resection and high nuclear pleomorphic score were poor prognostic factors for recurrence, and local recurrence was a risk factor for death. The median disease-free interval was 234 days and the median survival time was 260 days.
The authors noted the presence of perineal discharge or ulceration in cats should mean a diagnosis of AGASACA should be considered. Wide surgical excision should be attempted. The role of chemotherapy and radiotherapy warrant further investigation.
PEFT in dogs that have undergone hemilaminectomy
Electromagnetic field therapy has been claimed as a treatment for various diseases for more than a century, but evidence for its benefit is sparse and multiple systematic reviews in human medicine have found insufficient evidence to recommend its use.
However, Alvarez et al7 performed a prospective, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the effect of targeted pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEFT) in dogs that had undergone hemilaminectomy. In total, 53 dogs that had undergone hemilaminectomy for disc extrusion due to intervertebral disc disease were included in the study and were randomised to receive either placebo or the targeted PEFT.
The treated dogs were found to have significantly improved wound healing and required less owner-administered analgesia than the control groups.
The authors noted larger studies and more frequent evaluation of the outcome measures would be useful to confirm these findings.