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Biomedical subjects

A Hörauf

Publications and source records attributed to A Hörauf.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Ultrasonographic examination of the adrenal gland and evaluation of the hypophyseal-adrenal axis in 20 cats.

The adrenal glands of 20 healthy, non-sedated cats were examined ultrasonographically; visualisation and assessment was possible in all cases. In comparison with the surrounding tissue, the adrenal glands were hypoechoic and two distinct zones could be differentiated in six of the cats. The length and width of the adrenal glands varied from 0.45 to 1.37 cm and 0.29 to 0.53 cm, respectively, and both dimensions could be reliably reproduced. The adrenal glands did not differ between male and female cats, and, in comparison to dogs, those of cats are more easily visualised ultrasonographically. The basal cortisol value ranged from 2.0 to 79 micrograms/litre. Values 30 and 60 minutes after administration of ACTH (0.125 mg/cat intramuscularly) varied from 36 to 126 micrograms/litre. The basal value of aldosterone ranged from 4 to 618 pg/ml. Values 30 and 60 minutes after administration of ACTH varied from 100 to 832 pg/ml. In all cats, suppression of the cortisol value below the level of detection (< 2.0 micrograms/litre) occurred four and eight hours after the administration of dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg intravenously).

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1999

[Effects of mitotane therapy in dogs with pituitary dependent Cushing syndrome on the adrenal gland size--an ultrasonographic study].

The effect of mitotane therapy on adrenal gland size was evaluated in 13 dogs with pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Ultrasonographic measurements were obtained before and during mitotane therapy. During therapy both adrenal glands were shorter and thinner (median during therapy: left adrenal gland 19.4 mm long, 5.4 mm thick, right adrenal gland 18.1 mm long, 6.1 mm thick) than before mitotane therapy (median before therapy: left adrenal gland 23.6 mm long, 8.3 mm thick, right adrenal gland 21.6 mm long, 8.1 mm thick). Statistical evaluation showed a significant reduction in size. But ultrasonographic measurement of adrenal gland size is not useful in the evaluation of adrenal reserve during mitotane therapy. Inadequate adrenal reserve was not identified and adrenal size measurement by ultrasonography was not helpful to differentiate adequate and inadequate control of adrenal cortisol secretion during mitotane therapy.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1998

Seroprevalence of Ehrlichia canis and of canine granulocytic Ehrlichia infection in dogs in Switzerland.

Serum samples from 996 dogs in Switzerland were examined for antibodies to Ehrlichia canis and to the agent causing canine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (CGE). Ehrlichiosis, borreliosis, and systemic illness not associated with ticks were suspected in 75, 122, and 157 of these dogs, respectively. The remainder of the serum samples were obtained from clinically healthy dogs which resided north (n = 235) or south (n = 407) of the Alps. The serum samples were tested by an indirect immunofluorescence technique for antibodies to the two agents incriminated, E. canis and Ehrlichia phagocytophila, a surrogate marker of the agent of CGE. Twenty-two of 996 (2.2%) serum samples had antibodies to E. canis and were distributed as follows: 20 of 75 (26.7%) samples from dogs suspected of having ehrlichiosis, 1 of 122 (0.8%) from dogs suspected of having borreliosis, and 1 of 407 (0.2%) from healthy dogs which resided south of the Alps. Of the 75 (7.5%) serum samples that had antibodies to E. phagocytophila, significantly more samples were from ill dogs than from healthy dogs. Among the sera from healthy dogs, antibodies to E. phagocytophila were significantly more prevalent in the north. Because seropositive dogs had a history of travel outside Switzerland and because Rhipicephalus sanguineus is found exclusively south of the Alps, it was presumed that, in contrast to the agent of CGE, E. canis is not indigenous to Switzerland.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Treatment of mitral valve insufficiency in dogs with the ACE inhibitor enalapril. A clinical progress study].

The efficacy and safety of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril in dogs with naturally acquired class III or class IV heart failure was evaluated in this study. Eighteen small-breed dogs with insufficiency of their mitral valves, but without other diseases were included in this study over a period of six months. When necessary due to massive pulmonary edema or high serum potassium concentrations, furosemide was added to the therapy with enalapril. No other drugs, including digitalis, were used in this study. The treatment was followed by anamnesis, clinical examinations, electrocardiography, radiography, echocardiography and laboratory diagnosis. Examinations were performed before treatment and after one week, after six weeks and after six months of treatment. 72% of the dogs improved in NYHA classification until the end of the study (p < 0.05). The incidence of seizures due to syncopes or severe respiratory distress decreased during this study (p < 0.01). For 28% of the dogs this treatment was not successful. In the electrocardiographic, radiographic and laboratory examinations statistically significant changes could not be recorded. The decrease in heart rate did not reach statistical significance. The echocardiographic investigation evaluated a significant decrease in fractional shortening and in the diastolic diameter of the left ventricular wall (p < 0.05 respectively p < 0.01), but no significant change in the diastolic or systolic diameter of the interventricular septum. The average oral dose of enalapril was 0.38 mg/kg body weight b.i.d., the average dose of furosemide was 0.37 mg/kg body weight b.i.d. in the first week of the study and was raised to 0.74 mg/kg body weight b.i.d. until the end of the study. Side effects like diarrhea, vomiting or reduced appetite did not increase during the course of the study. However one dog was excluded from the study because of repeated vomiting after six weeks of treatment. This study shows the beneficial clinical and hemodynamic effects and the security of the therapy with enalapril for dogs with heart failure due to mitral insufficiency.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1998

[Indirect blood pressure measurement in cats with diabetes mellitus, chronic nephropathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy].

In the present study blood pressure was measured in cats comparing two indirect methods (oscillometric versus Doppler-sonographic) over a wide pressure range. It was shown, that at the lower pressures Doppler and oscillometric measurements were basically equivalent. However for higher pressures oscillometric measurements were consistently lower than Doppler measurements. This difference became greater as blood pressure increased. The determination of blood pressure by the Doppler-sonographic method was always possible, whereas the measurement by the oscillometric method was often not possible, especially at higher blood pressure levels. In a second step, the frequency of hypertension was determined in cats with diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Eight cats with diabetes mellitus had oszillometric blood pressure values of 101-155 mmHg systolic, 42-105 mmHg diastolic and 65-125 mmHg mean arterial pressure determined at the front leg and 110-167 mmHg systolic, 44-98 mmHg diastolic, and 61-125 mean arterial pressure determined at the tail. The Doppler-sonographic values were 120-180 mmHg. Only the oscillometric measurement (at the tail) of the systolic pressure was significantly higher than that of normal cats. In 11 cats with chronic renal failure the following values were determined by the oszillometric method: at the front leg 137-182 mmHg systolic, 74-138 mmHg diastolic, 100-162 mmHg mean arterial pressure and at the tail 134-189 mmHg systolic, 53-109 mmHg diastolic, 80-135 mmHg mean arterial pressure. With the Doppler-sonographic technique the blood pressure was between 120 and 280 mmHg. All blood pressure measurements were significantly higher than those of healthy cats, except the oscillometric measurements of diastolic blood pressure. In 12 cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy systolic pressure was 108-179 mmHg, diastolic pressure was 64-135 mmHg, and mean arterial pressure was 89-154 mmHg at the front leg using the oscillometric method. At the tail results were as follows: 121-201 mmHg systolic, 61-141 mmHg diastolic, and 85-160 mmHg mean arterial pressure. By the Doppler-sonographic technique determined blood pressure was 110-260 mmHg. All oscillometric measurements except the diastolic pressure determined at the front leg were significantly higher than in normal cats. Four cats with chronic renal failure and five cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy showed retinal hemorrhages and/or detachments. Eight of this nine cats had blood pressure measurements above the normal range. We conclude that hypertension can be detected in cats with several diseases. In most cases reliable measurements can only be obtained by Doppler-sonographic methods.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Immune responses to filarial infection in laboratory mice.

Models of filarial infection in laboratory inbred mice are valuable tools for assessing the relevance of anti-filarial immune responses in protection against these parasites. However, laboratory mice are not permissive for those filarial species which are known to infect humans. Therefore, immunity to the different stages of these filariae, i.e. infective third stage larvae (L3), adults and microfilariae, has been analyzed separately, as a surrogate approach. Although much information has been gathered by analysis of immunity and intervention in particular immune responses in these experimental systems, interference of different stage-specific responses as well as modulation of filarial maturation by the immune system cannot be assessed. A newly established infection model of filariasis, namely infection of laboratory mice with Litomosoides sigmodontis, accommodates the full developmental cycle of the parasite and may overcome this deficiency. Although the disadvantage of this latter model is that it deals with a filaria which is not pathogenic to man, it is the only model in which immunity can be analyzed during maturation of infective larvae into adult worms, the period considered most important for vaccination studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Leishmania major Hsp100 is required chiefly in the mammalian stage of the parasite.

In Leishmania major a 100-kDa heat shock protein, Hsp100, is abundant in the intracellular amastigote stage which persists in the mammalian host. A replacement of both clpB alleles which encode Hsp100 does not affect promastigote viability under standard culture conditions but impairs thermotolerance in vitro. In experimental infections of BALB/c inbred mice, the lack of Hsp100 in the gene replacement mutants results in a markedly delayed lesion development compared with that in infections with wild-type L. major. Overexpression of exogenous clpB gene copies can partly restore virulence to the gene replacement mutants. Genetic-selection experiments also reveal a strong pressure for Hsp100 expression in the mammalian stage. This requirement for Hsp100 was also observed in in vitro infection experiments with mouse peritoneal macrophages. These experiments indicated a role for Hsp100 during the development from the promastigote to the amastigote stage. Our results suggest an important role for this parasite heat shock protein during the initial stages of a mammalian infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Sonographic demonstration of an aortic thrombosis in the dog].

A case of aortic thrombosis in a Golden Retriever is reported. The main clinical signs were paresis of the left hind limb, weak femoralis pulses and cool distal limbs. The diagnosis was made by ultrasonography. An echogenic, intraluminal mass was detected in the iliac bifurcation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

[Cystocentesis in dogs and cats].

The technique of cystocentesis in dogs and cats was studied. The indications and contraindications of this method are discussed, using illustrations.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[The diagnostic significance of the protein-creatinine ratio in urine for the differentiation of feline nephropathies].

The normal U-P/C-range in cats was established with urine samples of 19 cats. The upper limiting value was fixed at 0.33 (mean +/- 2s). U-P/C is a reliable parameter for diagnosing proteinuria in the uremic cat. However, only very high U-P/C-values allow a conclusion on the type of nephropathy, whereas with moderately increased U-P/C values, do not allow any distinction between feline nephropathies.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiotherapy in three suspect cases of feline thymoma.

Radiation therapy for three cases of suspect feline thymoma is described. The thymoma was controlled for 4 years in case no. 1. Case no. 2 responded well to radiation therapy but was euthanized after 2 months because of a nasal adenocarcinoma. Case no. 3 continues to do well more than 8 months after radiotherapy. Difficulties in diagnosing feline thymomas are discussed, and biological behavior as well as different treatment modalities of feline and human thymomas are compared.

Animals↗