Novel approaches circumventing blood-ocular barriers in systemic drug delivery are lacking. We hypothesize receptor-mediated delivery of curcumin (CUR) across intestinal and ocular barriers leads to decreased inflammation in a model of lens-induced uveitis. CUR was encapsulated in double-headed polyester nanoparticles using gambogic acid (GA)–coupled polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA). Orally administered PLGA-GA2-CUR led to notable aqueous humor CUR levels and was dosed (10 mg/kg twice daily) to adult male beagles (n = 8 eyes) with induced ocular inflammation. Eyes were evaluated using a semiquantitative preclinical ocular toxicology scoring (SPOTS) and compared to commercial anti-inflammatory treatment (oral carprofen 2.2 mg/kg twice daily) (n = 8) and untreated controls (n = 8). PLGA-GA2-CUR offered improved protection compared with untreated controls and similar protection compared with carprofen, with reduced aqueous flare, miosis, and chemosis in the acute phase (<4 hours). This study highlights the potential of PLGA-GA2 nanoparticles for systemic drug delivery across ocular barriers.

Recovery from GA improves with multiple anaesthetic episodes in horses. Clinicians can advise clients that horses are likely to have better GA recovery on repeated GA recovery due to improved balance and coordination and reduced knuckling. Additionally, there is no change in anaesthetic morbidity with six repeated GA events over a 14-week period.

This case report describes OLV using standard anesthesia equipment that is available at most private practices. Furthermore, this case describes the computed tomographic images of the intrathoracic tracheal avulsion and offers a positive outcome for tracheal resection and anastomosis.

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Veterinary Technician | FEBRUARY 2010 E1 M any veterinarians and veterinary technicians are intimidated by anesthesia of foals. General anesthetic principles for adult horses apply to foals; however, because of their age and size, foals are at risk for certain complications during anesthesia, and there are a few special considerations for determining adjustments in their anesthetic protocol. Neonatal foals (i.e., younger than 1 month) have rapidly changing cardiovascular and pulmonary physiologies as they develop adult systems, and, therefore, they have an increased risk of anesthetic-related death and/or complications. During the first week of life, a foal's risk of anesthesia-related death is seven times higher than that of an adult horse.1 At 1 to 4 months of age, foals still have a higher risk for anesthetic complications and/or death, but their risk level is closer to that of adult horses. The Transition to Adult PhysiologyIn utero, foals have cardiac shunts (foramen ovale, ductus arteriosus [FIGURE 1]) that permit low-pressure circulation of blood. The foramen ovale permits most blood to be shunted from the right atrium into the left atrium, thereby bypassing the lungs. In addition, the relatively low-oxygen environment in utero leads to constriction of pulmonary vessels and dilation of the ductus arteriosus. Because the foal's pulmonary arterial resistance is higher than its systemic arterial resistance, most pulmonary arterial blood is shunted through the ductus arteriosus into the aorta, with the remaining blood perfusing the lungs. During birth, neonatal foals begin the transition to a right-sided, adult cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology. The initial breaths and lung expansion after parturition (delivery) decrease pulmonary vascular resistance, increasing pulmonary blood flow. The foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus close because of an increase in Pao 2 (partial pressure of oxygen, arterial) and a decrease in prostaglandins. A thin layer of tissue initially closes these shunts, which permanently close over a few weeks if the foal is normal. However, if a pathologic state, such as prematurity or infection, leads to hypoxemia, acidemia (e.g., pH <7.4), or hypercarbia (Paco 2 [partial pressure of CO 2 , arterial]: >45 mm Hg), these shunts may reopen, and pulmonary hypertension may occur.Neonatal foals younger than 1 week have a high resting heart rate (e.g., 60 to 120 beats/min [bpm]), high respira- Glossary Acidemia-the state of low blood pH (e.g., arterial blood gas pH <7.4)Cardiac output-the amount of blood pumped per minute by the heart Chest (thoracic) wall-the boundary of the thoracic cavityChronotropic agent-an agent that alters the heart rate (e.g., a positive chronotropic agent increases the heart rate) Hypercarbia (hypercapnia)-excess carbon dioxide in the blood, resulting in respiratory acidosisHypoxemia-decreased partial pressure of oxygen in the blood (<60 mm Hg)Inotrope-an agent that alters the force of muscular contraction (e.g., a positive inotrope causes a stronger cardiac cont...

Arterial oxyhemoglobin saturation (SaO2) is considered to be the reference method for evaluating lung function. There is current interest in development of biosensors to measure SpO2 (peripheral oxygen saturation) using infrared technology as a non-invasive alternative for pre-clinical respiratory detection of disease in animals. Objectives of this study were to investigate effects of experimentally-induced hypoxemia on hemodynamics (heart rate, HR and blood pressure, BP) and SaO2, and to evaluate the ability of 2 SpO2 pulse oximeters (PowerLab, AD Instruments; Passport2, Datascope) to predict SaO2 in cattle. Further, arterial lactate concentrations were measured as an indicator of oxygen delivery to tissues. Graded levels of hypoxia in seven anesthetized Holstein steers (BW = 127 ± 7 kg) were achieved by step-wise reductions in inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) from baseline (20–35%) to target levels of 14–15%, 16–17% and 18–19%. When the desired FiO2 levels were sustained for at least 3 min, arterial blood samples (n = 56) were collected and analyzed using a co-oximeter (pHOx-Ultra, Nova Biomedical) to determine SaO2 and lactate. Simultaneously, BP, HR, and SpO2 data from the 2 pulse oximeters were recorded. Data were analyzed with a mixed model that included level of FiO2 as fixed effect. As expected, SaO2 decreased (P < 0.001) as FiO2 was reduced. Heart rate increased (P < 0.001) as FiO2 was reduced, although BP was unaffected by hypoxia. While not significantly different (P = 0.15), arterial lactate concentrations were reduced with declining FiO2. Likewise, the SpO2 values recorded by both pulse oximeters decreased (P < 0.001) incrementally as FiO2 declined, although values were only moderately correlated (P < 0.01; r = 0.35 to 0.41) with SaO2. These results demonstrate that future efforts to develop biosensors to monitor SpO2 and HR may have utility for preclinical detection of respiratory disease in livestock.