Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare, metastatic, human adolescent cancer that also occurs in pet dogs. To define the genomic underpinnings of canine OS, we performed multi-platform analysis of OS tumors from 59 dogs, including whole genome sequencing ( n = 24) and whole exome sequencing (WES; n = 13) of primary tumors and matched normal tissue, WES ( n = 10) of matched primary/metastatic/normal samples and RNA sequencing ( n = 54) of primary tumors. We found that canine OS recapitulates features of human OS including low point mutation burden (median 1.98 per Mb) with a trend towards higher burden in metastases, high structural complexity, frequent TP53 (71%), PI3K pathway (37%), and MAPK pathway mutations (17%), and low expression of immune-associated genes. We also identified novel features of canine OS including putatively inactivating somatic SETD2 (42%) and DMD (50%) aberrations. These findings set the stage for understanding OS development in dogs and humans, and establish genomic contexts for future comparative analyses.

Reactions to individual allergens should not be used to determine that horses have hypersensitivity. Overall patterns of reactivity to intradermal allergens may be helpful in management when used in conjunction with a compatible history and evidence of potential exposure to allergens in horses with conditions associated with hypersensitivity to environmental allergens.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of using guided interactions with horses as a nonpharmaceutical intervention to improve the physiological and behavioral states of persons with dementia. A convenience sample of persons with dementia was recruited from an adult day health center (n = 16). A multi-component intervention was implemented comprised of opportunities for grooming, painting, and leading horses. Using a randomized pretest-posttest crossover design, researchers compared participants receiving the equine-assisted intervention with participants receiving treatment as usual. Older persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias engaged positively in animal-assisted therapy with horses. A reduction in behavioral problems was found post intervention in contrast to the comparison group. Pre-intervention measures showed that participants exhibited lower levels of disruptive behaviors compared with the control group on the days they were scheduled to work with the horses. Interestingly, cortisol levels, used as a physiological measure of coping with stress, were elevated after the intervention in participants with higher Mini Mental State Examination scores. Equine-assisted interventions are feasible and possibly beneficial for adults with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia disorder, such as those enrolled in adult day health programs. Future studies should utilize multiple methods of assessing impact and include process measures to delineate which specific activities seem to provide the most benefit.

A significantly greater number of positive reactions for IDT in horses with AD or RU, compared with horses without atopy, provides evidence of type-I IgE-mediated hypersensitivity for these diseases. Evaluation of results of IDT performed in horses with AD or RU is useful in determining specific allergens for the formulation of immunotherapy along with providing identification of allergens that could be useful when creating avoidance strategies.

None of the 3 serum allergy tests reliably detected allergen hypersensitivity, compared with the intradermal test. The FcepsilonRIalpha-based ELISA performed significantly better overall than the other 2 tests. Low sensitivity of all 3 assays indicates the need for continued study to elucidate a more sensitive test for the determination of potentially pathogenic allergens in horses.