BackgroundCardiac troponin I (cTnI) is useful for assessing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in cats.ObjectiveTo measure plasma cTnI concentrations in healthy cats and evaluate the clinical utility of cTnI in determining the severity of HCM.AnimalsClinically healthy cats (n = 88) and cats with HCM (n = 93).MethodsMulticenter prospective study. Cats with HCM, including hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy at various stages, were diagnosed using echocardiography. Plasma cTnI concentrations were analyzed by a commercial laboratory. Receiver‐operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of plasma cTnI concentrations to detect HCM.ResultsThe median cTnI concentration was 0.027 ng/mL (interquartile range, 0.012‐0.048 ng/mL) in healthy cats. Concentrations were significantly higher in diseased cats than in healthy controls, and concentrations were significantly higher in cats with heart failure than in asymptomatic cats. A plasma cTnI concentration of 0.163 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 62.0% and specificity of 100% when used to distinguish normal cats from asymptomatic HCM cats without left atrial dilatation. A cutoff of 0.234 ng/mL had high sensitivity (95.0%) and specificity (77.8%) for assessing heart failure. The areas under the receiver‐operating characteristic curves were 0.85 and 0.93, respectively.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceIncreased cTnI concentrations reflect the severity of HCM. If other causes of cardiac injury are ruled out, plasma cTnI concentration may be useful for predicting the severity of HCM in cats.
We have developed a new biodegradable scaffold that does not require any cell seeding to create an in-situ tissue-engineering vasculature (iTEV). Animal experiments were conducted to test its characteristics and long-term efficacy. An 8-mm tubular biodegradable scaffold, consisting of polyglycolide knitted fibers and an L-lactide and ε-caprolactone copolymer sponge with outer glycolide and ε-caprolactone copolymer monofilament reinforcement, was implanted into the inferior vena cava (IVC) of 13 canines. All the animals remained alive without any major complications until euthanasia. The utility of the iTEV was evaluated from 1 to 24 months postoperatively. The elastic modulus of the iTEV determined by an intravascular ultrasound imaging system was about 90% of the native IVC after 1 month. Angiography of the iTEV after 2 years showed a well-formed vasculature without marked stenosis or thrombosis with a mean pressure gradient of 0.51±0.19 mmHg. The length of the iTEV at 2 years had increased by 0.48±0.15 cm compared with the length of the original scaffold (2–3 cm). Histological examinations revealed a well-formed vessel-like vasculature without calcification. Biochemical analyses showed no significant differences in the hydroxyproline, elastin, and calcium contents compared with the native IVC. We concluded that the findings shown above provide direct evidence that the new scaffold can be useful for cell-free tissue-engineering of vasculature. The long-term results revealed that the iTEV was of good quality and had adapted its shape to the needs of the living body. Therefore, this scaffold would be applicable for pediatric cardiovascular surgery involving biocompatible materials.
Plasma N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP) concentration increases with
progression of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) in dogs. This multicentre,
prospective study compared plasma NT-proANP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide
(NT-proBNP), ANP, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in dogs with MMVD for their
characteristics and discriminatory ability to detect cardiac dilatation and congestive
heart failure (CHF). Thirty-six healthy dogs and 69 dogs with MMVD were included. Clinical
variables were obtained via physical examination, thoracic radiography, and
echocardiography. The discriminatory ability of each cardiac biomarker (CB) to determine
the presence or absence of cardiac dilatation (event 1) and CHF (event 2) was evaluated
using the receiver operating characteristic curves. Plasma NT-proANP, NT-proBNP, and ANP
concentrations showed a significant association with the left atrium/aorta ratio
(
P
<0.01). The area under the curve of plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP
concentrations were 0.72 and 0.75, respectively in event1 and 0.72 and 0.76, respectively
in event2. Plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations showed sensitivity 80.0 and
80.0%; specificity 67.6 and 64.7% in event1 (cutoff value; 8,497.81 pg/ml and 1,453.00
pmol/l, respectively) and sensitivity 85.7 and 81.0%; specificity 60.4 and 64.6% in event2
(cutoff value; 8,684.33 pg/ml and 1,772.00 pmol/l, respectively). In dogs with MMVD,
plasma NT-proANP, NT-proBNP, and ANP concentrations increase with left atrial enlargement.
Particularly, plasma NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations appeared to be equally useful
in the discriminatory ability to detect cardiac dilatation and CHF.
We investigated the clinical characteristics of healthy cats in accordance with the
target organ damage (TOD) risk category, on the basis of systolic blood pressure (SBP).
This prospective multi-center study included 137 healthy cats. Indirect blood pressure was
measured using an oscillometric technique. The median SBP in all cats was 147 mmHg
(interquartile range: 134–158). On the basis of the TOD risk category, 57.7, 19.7, 21.9,
and 0.7% of the cats were classified into categories I–IV, respectively. Age, sex, and
body weight did not affect the SBP. This study provides basic information on the
distribution of TOD risk categories in clinically healthy cats.
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