Quantitative assessment of intravenous regional limb perfusion of tiludronate as an adjunctive treatment for lameness caused by navicular syndrome in horses.

OBJECTIVE To determine effects for 2 IV regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) protocols involving tiludronate on lameness of horses with navicular syndrome. ANIMALS 15 horses with bilateral forelimb navicular syndrome. PROCEDURES Shoeing and anti-inflammatory injection into the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) of both forelimbs (day 0) were performed on all horses. On day 14, horses received 1 of 3 IVRLPs consisting of 0.1 mg of tiludronate/kg (low-dose tiludronate [LDT]; n = 5), 0.2 mg of tiludronate/kg (high-dose tiludronate [HDT]; 5), or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (placebo; 5); treatments were repeated at days 24 and 34. Lameness severity of both forelimbs was evaluated via subjective evaluation and force plate analysis before and after shoeing on day 0 and at days 14, 34, 60, and 120. Mean subjective lameness score and peak vertical ground reaction force (PVGRF) for the more severely lame forelimb (LFL) and both (combined) forelimbs (CFL) were compared over time. RESULTS For all horses, mean PVGRF for the LFL and CFL was increased at 14 days. No difference in mean subjective lameness score or mean PVGRF was detected within groups at any time. Mean PVGRF of the CFL was higher for the HDT group than the LDT and placebo groups only at 120 days. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Use of the tiludronate IVRLP protocols described here provided no further improvement in lameness over therapeutic shoeing and anti-inflammatory injection of the DIPJ in horses with navicular syndrome. However, HDT-treated horses were objectively less lame than LDT- or placebo-treated horses at 120 days.

Improvement in growth after 1 year of growth hormone therapy in well-nourished infants with growth retardation secondary to chronic renal failure: results of a multicenter, controlled, randomized, open clinical trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the growth-promoting effect of growth hormone (GH) treatment in infants with chronic renal failure (CRF) and persistent growth retardation despite adequate nutritional and metabolic management. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: The study design included randomized, parallel groups in an open, multicenter trial comparing GH (0.33 mg/kg per wk) with nontreatment with GH during 12 months. Sixteen infants who had growth retardation, were aged 12+/-3 months, had CRF (GFR

Stage specificity of Ara-C induced carpal and tarsal bone anomalies in mice.

Pregnant mice were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 5 mg/kg of cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) on different gestational days (dg 9-12). On the 15th postnatal day, skeletal anomalies of the paws were examined, and associations between carpal and tarsal bone anomalies and digit anomalies were assessed. The types of carpal and tarsal bone anomalies differed according to the time of exposure to Ara-C during pregnancy. It was also found that the "critical period" for the carpal and tarsal bones is wider than that of the digits. The occurrence of anomalies of phalangeal and metacarpal/metatarsal bones was always associated with carpal or tarsal bone anomalies, although some carpal and tarsal bone anomalies occurred alone. It may be that the Ara-C threshold is considerably lower in the carpal and tarsal bones than in the digits.

Carpal and tarsal bone anomalies in mice induced by maternal treatment of Ara-C.

Pregnant mice of the Jcl:ICR strain were injected intraperitoneally with a single dose of 5 mg/kg of cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) on dg 10.5. Skeletal changes of the forepaw and hindpaw were evaluated in the offspring on the 15th or 24th postnatal day. Various anomalies of carpal and tarsal bones such as fusion, absence, and deformation occurred at high incidence at a dose that produced digital anomalies. Almost all newborns with Ara-C-induced digital anomalies (oligodactyly or polydactyly) had anomalies of carpal or tarsal bones in the particular paw, while anomalies of carpal or tarsal bones could occur in the presence or absence of digital anomalies. Carpal and tarsal bone anomalies may become a sensitive and novel parameter of limb development in the postnatal teratogen testing system.