Background: In dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts (CPS), postligation seizures can be challenging to treat and often result in mortality. Levetiracetam (LEV) is a novel anticonvulsive drug that is commonly used in humans with seizure disorders who have hepatic comorbidity.Objectives: To compare the incidence of postoperative seizures in dogs that underwent surgical attenuation of an extrahepatic CPS and preoperatively received either LEV or no anticonvulsant medication.Animals: A total of 126 dogs undergoing attenuation of an extrahepatic CPS that preoperatively received either LEV or no anticonvulsant medication.Methods: Retrospective case review. Information obtained included signalment, duration of clinical signs, presence of neurologic abnormalities before surgery, preoperative bile acid and ammonia concentrations, diagnostic imaging modality, duration of hospitalization, postoperative complications including seizures, and discharge status. Bayesian Poisson regression was used to estimate the risk of seizures in LEV-treated dogs when compared with untreated dogs.Results: Levetiracetam was administered to 33% (42/126) of dogs. No dog treated with LEV experienced postoperative seizures, whereas 5% (4/84) of dogs not treated with LEV experienced postoperative seizures. The relative risk of seizures was significantly (P < .0002) < 1 for the LEV-treated dogs, indicating LEV protection against development of postoperative seizures. No dog that experienced postoperative seizures survived to discharge from the hospital.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Levetiracetam administered at 20 mg/kg PO q8h for a minimum of 24 hours before surgery significantly decreased the risk of postoperative seizures and death in dogs undergoing surgical attenuation of extrahepatic CPS with ameroid ring constrictors.

Knowledge of the prognosis of acute spinal cord injury is critical to provide appropriate information for clients and make the best treatment choices. Acute intervertebral disc extrusions (IVDE) are a common cause of pain and paralysis in dogs with several types of IVDE occurring. Important prognostic considerations are recovery of ambulation, return of urinary and fecal continence, resolution of pain and, on the negative side, development of progressive myelomalacia. Initial injury severity affects prognosis as does type of IVDE, particularly when considering recovery of continence. Overall, loss of deep pain perception signals a worse outcome. When considering Hansen type 1 IVDE, the prognosis is altered by the choice of surgical vs. medical therapy. Concentration of structural proteins in the plasma, as well as inflammatory mediators, creatine kinase, and myelin basic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can provide additional prognostic information. Finally, cross-sectional area and length of T2 hyperintensity and loss of HASTE signal on MRI have been associated with outcome. Future developments in plasma and imaging biomarkers will assist in accurate prognostication and optimization of patient management.

The Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO, https://www.iddo.org) has launched a clinical data platform for the collation, curation, standardisation and reuse of individual participant data (IPD) on treatments for two of the most globally important neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), schistosomiasis (SCH) and soiltransmitted helminthiases (STHs). This initiative aims to harness the power of data-sharing by facilitating collaborative joint analyses of pooled datasets to generate robust evidence on the efficacy and safety of anthelminthic treatment regimens. A crucial component of this endeavour has been the development of a Research Agenda to

Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a common, naturally-occurring, clinical disease of pet dogs. It is an immune-mediated condition that has many similarities with experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) in rodents and so investigation of its pathogenesis may aid in understanding factors that contribute to development of multiple sclerosis in people. Gut microbiota are known to modulate immune responses that influence susceptibility to immune-mediated brain disease. In this study we aimed to compare abundance of specific constituents of the fecal microbiota, namely Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Prevotellaceae, between dogs diagnosed with MUO and matched controls. Fecal samples were obtained from 20 dogs diagnosed with MUO and 20 control dogs matched for breed, age and gender. Bacterial abundance was measured using qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing. We found that Prevotellaceae were significantly less abundant in cases compared with controls (p = 0.003) but there was no difference in abundance of F.prausnitzii. There was no evidence of other differences in gut microbiota between groups. These data, derived from this naturally-occurring canine clinical model, provide strong corroborative evidence that high abundance of Prevotellaceae in the gut is associated with reduced risk for developing immune-mediated brain disease.

Study design: Retrospective cohort study. Objectives: To analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluator agreement in dogs with spinal cord injury (SCI) caused by intervertebral disk herniation (IVDH) using semiautomated and manual lesion segmentation and to analyze the associations between MRI and functional outcome. Setting: United States of America. Methods: T2-weighted MRIs from dogs with SCI resulting from thoracolumbar IVDH were identified from a database. Evaluators categorized MRIs on the basis of the presence or absence of a T2-hyperintense spinal cord lesion in axial and sagittal images. A semiautomated segmentation algorithm was developed and used to estimate the lesion volume. Agreement between evaluators and between semiautomated and manual segmentation was analyzed. The relationships of qualitative and quantitative MRIs with behavioral functional outcome were analyzed. Results: Axial images more commonly depicted lesions compared with sagittal images. Lesions in axial images had more consistent associations with functional outcome compared with sagittal images. There was imperfect qualitative agreement, and lesion volume estimation was imprecise. However, there was improved precision using semiautomated segmentation compared with manual segmentation. Conclusion: Lesion volume estimation in dogs with naturally occurring SCI caused by IVDH is challenging, and axial images have important advantages compared with sagittal images. The semiautomated segmentation algorithm described herein shows promise but may require further refinement. INTRODUCTIONSpinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disease process that results in disability, loss of quality of life and cost to the health-care system. Currently, there are no therapies that robustly improve functional outcomes. 1 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used in humans to diagnose SCI for three decades and has been proposed as a viable in vivo biomarker. 2-4 High T2 signal intensity within the spinal cord following injury is correlated with identifiable edema, necrosis, cellular infiltrates and hemorrhage. 5,6 The presence of such lesions has been associated with slowed recovery across a number of model systems and in humans. 2,7,8 More recently, spinal cord lesion volume as measured by MRI has been used to quantitatively characterize SCI following clinical interventions. 9 Canine intervertebral disk herniation (IVDH) is a common, naturally occurring SCI that is seen in pet dogs. 10,11 Canine IVDH shares many features with human SCI including lesion histopathology, presence of compressive/contusive facets of injury and use of surgical/ rehabilitative treatment modalities. 10,11 As is the case in humans, data from dogs with IVDH suggest that T2-hyperintense lesions within the spinal cord are correlated with behaviorally severe injuries and poorer long-term motor recovery. 11