Effect of feeding a weight loss food beyond a caloric restriction period on body composition and resistance to weight gain in cats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of feeding a food with coconut oil and supplemental L-carnitine, lysine, leucine, and fiber on weight loss and maintenance in cats. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. ANIMALS: 50 overweight cats. PROCEDURES: The study consisted of 2 trials. During trial 1, 30 cats were allocated to 3 groups (10 cats/group) to be fed a dry maintenance cat food to maintain body weight (group 1) or a dry test food at the same amount on a mass (group 2) or energy (group 3) basis as group 1. During trial 2, each of 20 cats was fed the test food and caloric intake was adjusted to maintain a weight loss rate of 1%/wk (weight loss phase). Next, each cat was fed the test food in an amount calculated to maintain the body weight achieved at the end of the weight loss phase (weight maintenance phase). Cats were weighed and underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry monthly. Metabolomic data were determined before (baseline) and after each phase. RESULTS: During trial 1, cats in groups 2 and 3 lost significantly more weight than did those in group 1. During trial 2, cats lost a significant amount of body weight and fat mass but retained lean body mass during the weight loss phase and continued to lose body weight and fat mass but gained lean body mass during the weight maintenance phase. Evaluation of metabolomic data suggested that fat metabolism was improved from baseline for cats fed the test food. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that feeding overweight cats the test food caused weight loss and improvements in body condition during the weight maintenance phase, possibly because the food composition improved energy metabolism.

Effect of feeding a weight loss food beyond a caloric restriction period on body composition and resistance to weight gain in dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of feeding a food with coconut oil and supplemental L-carnitine, lipoic acid, lysine, leucine, and fiber on weight loss and maintenance in dogs. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. ANIMALS: 50 overweight dogs. PROCEDURES: The study consisted of 2 trials. During trial 1, 30 dogs were allocated to 3 groups (10 dogs/group) to be fed a dry maintenance dog food to maintain body weight (group 1) or a dry test food at the same amount on a mass (group 2) or energy (group 3) basis as group 1. During trial 2, each of 20 dogs was fed the test food and caloric intake was adjusted to maintain a weight loss rate of 1% to 2%/wk (weight loss phase). Next, each dog was fed the test food in an amount calculated to maintain the body weight achieved at the end of the weight loss phase (weight maintenance phase). Dogs were weighed and underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry monthly. Metabolomic data were determined before (baseline) and after each phase. RESULTS: During trial 1, dogs in groups 2 and 3 lost significantly more weight than did those in group 1. During trial 2, dogs lost a significant amount of body weight and fat mass but retained lean body mass (LBM) during the weight loss phase and continued to lose body fat but gained LBM during the weight maintenance phase. Evaluation of metabolomic data suggested that fat metabolism and LBM retention were improved from baseline for dogs fed the test food. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that feeding overweight dogs the test food caused weight loss and improvements in body condition during the weight-maintenance phase, possibly because the food composition improved energy metabolism.

MBSR vs aerobic exercise in social anxiety: fMRI of emotion regulation of negative self-beliefs.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is thought to reduce emotional reactivity and enhance emotion regulation in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). The goal of this study was to examine the neural correlates of deploying attention to regulate responses to negative self-beliefs using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were 56 patients with generalized SAD in a randomized controlled trial who were assigned to MBSR or a comparison aerobic exercise (AE) stress reduction program. Compared to AE, MBSR yielded greater (i) reductions in negative emotion when implementing regulation and (ii) increases in attention-related parietal cortical regions. Meditation practice was associated with decreases in negative emotion and social anxiety symptom severity, and increases in attention-related parietal cortex neural responses when implementing attention regulation of negative self-beliefs. Changes in attention regulation during MBSR may be an important psychological factor that helps to explain how mindfulness meditation training benefits patients with anxiety disorders.

A multicenter study of the effect of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on carprofen dosage in dogs with osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of feeding a diet supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on carprofen dosage in dogs with osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, multisite clinical trial. ANIMALS: 131 client-owned dogs with stable chronic osteoarthritis examined at 33 privately owned veterinary hospitals in the United States. PROCEDURES: In all dogs, the dosage of carprofen was standardized over a 3-week period to approximately 4.4 mg/kg/d (2 mg/lb/d), PO. Dogs were then randomly assigned to receive a food supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids or a control food with low omega-3 fatty acid content, and 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks later, investigators made decisions regarding increasing or decreasing the carprofen dosage on the basis of investigator assessments of 5 clinical signs and owner assessments of 15 signs. RESULTS: Linear regression analysis indicated that over the 12-week study period, carprofen dosage decreased significantly faster among dogs fed the supplemented diet than among dogs fed the control diet. The distribution of changes in carprofen dosage for dogs in the control group was significantly different from the distribution of changes in carprofen dosage for dogs in the test group. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that in dogs with chronic osteoarthritis receiving carprofen because of signs of pain, feeding a diet supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids may allow for a reduction in carprofen dosage.

Multicenter veterinary practice assessment of the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on osteoarthritis in dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of food containing high concentrations of fish oil omega-3 fatty acids and a low omega-6-omega-3 fatty acid ratio on clinical signs of osteoarthritis in dogs. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS: 127 client-owned dogs with osteoarthritis in 1 or more joints from 18 privately owned veterinary clinics. PROCEDURES: Dogs were randomly assigned to be fed for 6 months with a typical commercial food or a test food containing a 31-fold increase in total omega-3 fatty acid content and a 34-fold decrease in omega-6-omega-3 ratio, compared with the control food. Dog owners completed a questionnaire about their dog's arthritic condition, and investigators performed a physical examination and collected samples for a CBC and serum biochemical analyses (including measurement of fatty acids concentration) at the onset of the study and at 6, 12, and 24 weeks afterward. RESULTS: Dogs fed the test food had a significantly higher serum concentration of total omega-3 fatty acids and a significantly lower serum concentration of arachidonic acid at 6, 12, and 24 weeks. According to owners, dogs fed the test food had a significantly improved ability to rise from a resting position and play at 6 weeks and improved ability to walk at 12 and 24 weeks, compared with control dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Ingestion of the test food raised blood concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids and appeared to improve the arthritic condition in pet dogs with osteoarthritis.

Evaluation of the effects of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a food supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial. ANIMALS: 38 client-owned dogs with osteoarthritis examined at 2 university veterinary clinics. PROCEDURES: Dogs were randomly assigned to receive a typical commercial food (n = 16) or a test food (22) containing 3.5% fish oil omega-3 fatty acids. On day 0 (before the trial began) and days 45 and 90 after the trial began, investigators conducted orthopedic evaluations and force-plate analyses of the most severely affected limb of each dog, and owners completed questionnaires to characterize their dogs' arthritis signs. RESULTS: The change in mean peak vertical force between days 90 and 0 was significant for the test-food group (5.6%) but not for the control-food group (0.4%). Improvement in peak vertical force values was evident in 82% of the dogs in the test-food group, compared with 38% of the dogs in the control-food group. In addition, according to investigators' subjective evaluations, dogs fed the test food had significant improvements in lameness and weight bearing on day 90, compared with measurements obtained on day 0. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: At least in the short term, dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids resulted in an improvement in weight bearing in dogs with osteoarthritis.

Doxorubicin and BAY 12-9566 for the treatment of osteosarcoma in dogs: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to assess the efficacy of a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor in prolonging posttreatment survival for dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma after treatment with amputation and doxorubicin chemotherapy. HYPOTHESIS: Survival will be prolonged in dogs receiving BAY 12-9566. ANIMALS: The study included 303 dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma. METHODS: Dogs were treated with doxorubicin (30 mg/m2) every 2 weeks for 5 treatments starting 2 weeks after amputation. Dogs were randomly allocated to receive a novel nonpeptidic biphenyl inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs, BAY 12-9566; 4-[4-4-(chlorophenyl)phenyl]-4-oxo-2S-(phenylthiomethyl) butanoic acid) or placebo after doxorubicin chemotherapy. RESULTS: Median survival for all 303 dogs was 8 months; and 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year survival rates were 35%, 17%, and 9%, respectively. Treatment with BAY 12-9566 did not influence survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that increasing age (P = .004), increasing weight (P = .006), high serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (P = .012) and high bone ALP (P < .001) were independently associated with shorter median survival times. Additional analyses on available data indicated that as the number of mitotic figures in the biopsy increased (P = .013), and as plasma active MMP-2 concentrations increased (P = .027), the risk of dying increased. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Doxorubicin is an effective adjuvant to amputation in prolonging survival for dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma.

Photodynamic therapy response in cats with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma as a function of fluence.

The response of advanced stage cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) following treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been poor. It was the aim of this pilot study to determine whether an increase in the delivered fluence (i.e. energy density) would improve the duration of tumour remission in cats with advanced-stage SCC. Tumours were treated with aluminium phthalocyanine tetrasulphonate (AlPcS4 ) PDT at a fluence of either 100 J cm-2 or 200 J cm-2 and tumour response was evaluated at regular intervals. Those feline tumours treated with a fluence of 100 J cm-2 (n= 8) had a significantly shorter median remission duration (69 days; range 0-619 days) than those feline tumours treated with 200 J cm-2 (n= 6; 522 days; range 151-1057 days). It is our conclusion that a fluence of 200 J cm-2 is well tolerated and more effective when treating cats with advanced stage cutaneous SCC.