Use of etretinate for treatment of primary keratinization disorders (idiopathic seborrhea) in cocker spaniels, west highland white terriers, and basset hounds.

An open clinical trial was used to evaluate the synthetic retinoid, etretinate, for treatment of idiopathic seborrhea in Cocker Spaniels, West Highland White Terriers, and Basset Hounds. Clinical and histologic improvement was seen in the Cocker Spaniels. Etretinate had no beneficial effect on the skin disease of the West Highland White Terriers or the Basset Hounds. Etretinate treatment did not alter the type or degree of otitis externa. Clinical side effects were minimal. Relevant laboratory abnormalities were not detected.

Systemic and pulmonary haemodynamics in normal neonatal foals.

Cardiopulmonary function was studied in 10 full-term healthy foals from birth to 14 days of age. Systemic and pulmonary haemodynamics were recorded in lateral recumbency via indwelling aortic and pulmonary artery catheters. Mean body weight increased from 45.4 +/- 2.4 kg on Day 1 to 70.6 +/- 6.1 kg on Day 14. All foals had a continuous murmur of patent ductus arteriosus for 3-6 days. From Day 1 (12 h old) to Day 14, heart rate increased (89 +/- 4 to 95 +/- 5/min), mean aortic pressure increased (87.7 +/- 1.9 to 100.3 +/- 3.2 mmHg), mean pulmonary artery pressure decreased (38.6 +/- 4.6 to 27.4 +/- 3.0 mmHg), mean right atrial pressure was unchanged (4.5 +/- 0.5 to 4.6 +/- 0.9 mmHg), mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure was unchanged (7.6 +/- 0.9 mmHg to 8.1 +/- 0.7 mmHg), cardiac output increased (8.03 +/- 0.59 to 15.88 +/- 1.90 l/min), cardiac index increased (180.5 +/- 10.3 to 222.1 +/- 21.6 ml/kg/min), stroke volume increased (90.4 +/- 5.7 to 164.2 +/- 25.9 ml), stroke volume index was unchanged (2.04 +/- 0.10 to 2.30 +/- 0.35 ml/kg), pulmonary vascular resistance decreased (314 +/- 39 to 104 +/- 21 aru), systemic vascular resistance decreased (858 +/- 70 to 497 +/- 87 aru), and pulmonary/systemic resistance ratio decreased (38 +/- 6 to 21 +/- 5%). All changes were gradual, although pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased rapidly in the first 24 h. Catheters were well tolerated over several days, indicating their feasibility for studying cardiovascular function in full-term or premature equine neonates.

Changes in conduction within the diffuse sinoatrial node of the chicken following premature atrial stimulation.

Premature atrial stimulation was used to estimate sinoatrial conduction within the diffuse sinoatrial node of the bird (chicken), and compare its conduction with that reported for mammals. While sinoatrial conduction could not be determined in the chicken because reset did not occur, the premature wavefront did have an effect on the sinoatrial node because the recovery interval following the premature stimulus became less than compensatory with shortening of the premature stimulus interval. This less than compensatory non-reset recovery interval is interpreted as a conduction dependent response in which the intrinsic wavefront leading to the first recovery atrial activation conducts out of the node faster than normal. This conduction dependent recovery interval is seen infrequently in mammals (rabbit, dog and man). The absence of reset and the presence of a less than compensatory non-reset response in the chicken suggests that while the general organization of the sinoatrial node of the chicken is similar to that in mammals, a larger transitional cell network in the chicken prevents a premature wavefront from reaching the pacemaker cells and resetting them.