Horses on pasture may be affected by equine motor neuron disease.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) was diagnosed in 3 horses maintained on lush, grass-based pasture. This contrasted with North American studies which identified limited or no access to green herbage as an important risk factor for EMND. HYPOTHESIS: Grazing horses that have an apparently adequate intake of pasture herbage to meet normal equine vitamin E requirements can develop EMND. METHODS: Owners of 32 European horses diagnosed with EMND completed a questionnaire regarding intrinsic, managemental, nutritional and environmental factors that could potentially be risk factors for EMND, and also regarding clinical signs, treatments and case outcome. Plasma/serum vitamin E data for these horses were supplied by the veterinarians. No control population was studied. RESULTS: Thirteen of 32 horses (termed the 'grazing' group) had part- or full-time access to grass-based pasture at the onset of EMND (median duration at pasture 12 h/day, range 3-24 h). Five of these horses were at pasture for at least 235 h/day at the onset of EMND, 2 of which were at pasture for at least 23.5 h/day throughout the year. Despite grazing, all these horses had a low vitamin E status. The remaining 19 horses resembled those cases reported from North America, in that they had no or limited access to pasture. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: A diagnosis of EMND should not be discounted on the basis that a horse has access, even full-time, to lush grass-based pasture. Inadequate vitamin E intake was probably not the sole cause of either the EMND or the low vitamin E status in the grazing horses; the latter was probably the result of abnormal bioavailability or excessive utilisation of vitamin E.

Regional brain metabolic changes in patients with major depression treated with either paroxetine or interpersonal therapy: preliminary findings.

BACKGROUND: In functional brain imaging studies of major depressive disorder (MDD), regional abnormalities have been most commonly found in prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, and temporal lobe. We examined baseline regional metabolic abnormalities and metabolic changes from pretreatment to posttreatment in subjects with MDD. We also performed a preliminary comparison of regional changes with 2 distinct forms of treatment (paroxetine and interpersonal psychotherapy). METHODS: Twenty-four subjects with unipolar MDD and 16 normal control subjects underwent resting F 18 ((18)F) fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning before and after 12 weeks. Between scans, subjects with MDD were treated with either paroxetine or interpersonal psychotherapy (based on patient preference), while controls underwent no treatment. RESULTS: At baseline, subjects with MDD had higher normalized metabolism than controls in the prefrontal cortex (and caudate and thalamus), and lower metabolism in the temporal lobe. With treatment, subjects with MDD had metabolic changes in the direction of normalization in these regions. After treatment, paroxetine-treated subjects had a greater mean decrease in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score (61.4%) than did subjects treated with interpersonal psychotherapy (38.0%), but both subgroups showed decreases in normalized prefrontal cortex (paroxetine-treated bilaterally and interpersonal psychotherapy-treated on the right) and left anterior cingulate gyrus metabolism, and increases in normalized left temporal lobe metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with MDD had regional brain metabolic abnormalities at baseline that tended to normalize with treatment. Regional metabolic changes appeared similar with the 2 forms of treatment. These results should be interpreted with caution because of study limitations (small sample size, lack of random assignment to treatment groups, and differential treatment response between treatment subgroups).

AT1 receptor antagonist treatment caused persistent arterial functional changes in young spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The effects of chronic treatment with an AT1 receptor antagonist (L-158,809) on hypertension development and cardiovascular changes were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). L-158,809 treatment (0.6 mg/kg PO) was initiated at 3 weeks of age and lasted 12 weeks, to 15 weeks of age. The treatment prevented hypertension development in the SHR (systolic blood pressure, BP, of 136+/-1 mm Hg compared with 198+/-3 mm Hg in control SHR), and lowered the BP of WKY (99+/-2 vs 128+/-1 mm Hg in control WKY). Treatment significantly reduced the heart weight in SHR and WKY. Ten weeks after treatment withdrawal (25 weeks of age), BP had increased in SHR and WKY to 172+/-8 and 117+/-3 mm Hg, respectively. Body weight and kidney weight were not affected by the treatment. Mesenteric arteries from treated SHR were less responsive than control SHR arteries to periarterial nerve stimulations at transmural pressures higher than 80 mm Hg (15 and 25 weeks). Control WKY arteries were less responsive than control SHR arteries at almost all transmural pressures tested (15 weeks) and to pressures greater than 80 mm Hg (25 weeks). Pretreatment of arteries with 10(-8) mol/L angiotensin II enhanced their response to nerve stimulation in vessels from control SHR and WKY (25 weeks) but not from treatment-withdrawn SHR and WKY. Treatment did not alter arterial reactivity in response to norepinephrine. Alteration in arterial structure due to L-158,809 treatment was found only when measured at a transmural pressure of 100 mm Hg. In conclusion, L-158,809 was effective in preventing hypertension during the treatment period, in reducing hypertension severity during the withdrawal period, and in persistently decreasing the reactivity of the arteries.

Characteristics of psychoanalytic patients under a nationalized health plan: DSM-III-R diagnoses, previous treatment, and childhood trauma.

OBJECTIVE: This article reports the results of a survey to collect data on the characteristics of patients in psychoanalysis under a nationalized health insurance scheme. METHOD: A questionnaire, to be answered anonymously, was sent to all 174 accredited psychoanalysts in Ontario, Canada. Part 1 of the questionnaire consisted of 38 questions on the analyst's pattern of practice. Part 2, also to be filled out by the analyst, consisted of 452 questions on the demographic characteristics, childhood traumas, DSM-III-R diagnoses, and indications for psychoanalysis of each of the analyst's patients. RESULTS: One hundred seventeen analysts responded--a survey response rate of 67%--with data on 580 patients. Fifty-nine percent (N = 344) of patients were women, and 41% (N = 236) were men. Eighty-two percent had attempted other forms of treatment, including briefer forms of psychotherapy and medication, prior to psychoanalysis. During childhood, 23% had had traumatic separations, 23% had been sexually abused, 22% had been physically abused, and 21% had had a parent or sibling die. The mean number of adult psychiatric disorders at the beginning of analysis was four, and the mode was two. CONCLUSIONS: In a nationalized health insurance scheme, the psychoanalytic patients were mostly women, they had high rates of trauma and psychopathology, and they had attempted other forms of briefer treatment before resorting to psychoanalysis.

Cross-over study comparing effects of treatment with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist on cardiovascular changes in hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the blood-pressure-lowering effects of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, perindopril, with those of an angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist, L-158,809, for adult spontaneously hypertensive rats. DESIGN: A cross-over design was used, to treat adult spontaneously hypertensive rats with one drug for 10 weeks, and then with the other for 5 weeks. METHODS: Adult, male spontaneously hypertensive rats (aged 15 weeks) were treated daily by gavage for 10 weeks with perindopril (P group) or L-158,809 (L group), then treatment was crossed over so that rats in the P group were treated with L-158,809 (P/L group) and rats in the L group were treated with perindopril (L/P group) for 5 weeks. Blood pressure was measured weekly. Plasma angiotensin converting enzyme activity, renal angiotensin receptor density, and arterial structure and functioning were measured after the single and crossover treatment periods. RESULTS: Treatment lowered the blood pressure from 206 +/- 2 mmHg in rats in the control group, to 126 +/- 2 in rats in the P group and 150 +/- 2 in rats in the L group. After the cross-over period, blood pressure decreased further from 150 +/- 2 to 129 +/- 3 mmHg in rats in the L/P group, whereas blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats in the P/L group increased from 126 +/- 2 to 148 +/- 2 mmHg. Perindopril treatment almost abolished plasma angiotensin converting enzyme activity, whereas L-158,809 treatment had no effect. Renal angiotensin II receptor density was decreased versus baseline in rats in the P and L groups. The affinity of binding was decreased versus baseline in rats in the L group. A positive correlation to blood pressure was found for mesenteric artery wall thickness and wall: lumen ratio. Concentration for half-maximal effect for the response of mesenteric arteries from rats in the P group to norepinephrine was lower than that of the control group rats. Angiotensin II potentiated the norepinephrine-stimulated contraction of arteries from rats in the control and P groups, but not that of arteries from rats in the groups treated with L-158,809. CONCLUSION: Perindopril was more effective than was L-158,809 at lowering the blood pressure of adult spontaneously hypertensive rats, and at altering the structure and functioning of the arteries.

Identification of pesticide poisoning in wildlife.

The Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme investigates incidents of suspected poisoning of wildlife (also honey bees and companion animals) by pesticides in the United Kingdom. The approach to these investigations has evolved over the past 30 years. Field investigations, post-mortem examinations, toxicological data and experience of previous poisoning incidents assist in the selection and interpretation of appropriate chemical analyses. Several 'multi-residue' and several 'individual compound' analytical methods for pesticides in wildlife are currently in use; these are described.

The role of loss in treatment outcomes of persistent somatization.

The present study examines the effect of loss on treatment outcome in 92 persistently somatizing patients treated in an inpatient program. Patients were divided into one of three groups depending on the form of loss they experienced: early loss (loss of a parent before the age of 17, N = 25); recent loss (bereavement within the last 2 years, N = 21); or no loss (N = 46). The results indicate that patients experiencing an early loss had the poorest treatment outcome. The early loss group was characterized by poorer social adjustment prior to entry into the program compared with the recent loss group and a greater incidence of dependent personality disorder. The recent loss group showed the best outcome following treatment. The results support the concept that persistent somatization may arise from many precipitating factors. Assessing loss experiences in the patient may be an important factor in developing appropriate treatment strategies.

Antihypertensive effects of perindopril treatment in adult spontaneously hypertensive rats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of perindopril treatment and treatment withdrawal in the prevention of hypertension in adult male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). ANIMALS AND METHODS: Beginning at 15 weeks of age, male SHR were treated with either distilled water (control) or different daily dosages of perindopril (1, 2 or 4 mg/kg) by gavage for 10 weeks, followed by 10 weeks of treatment withdrawal. Systolic blood pressure, heart rate and body weight of adult SHR were determined at regular intervals before, during and after the treatment withdrawal periods. At the end of the treatment withdrawal period, plasma and tissue samples were taken for measurement of noradrenaline levels. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in the plasma from adult SHR and Wistar-kyoto (WKY) rats treated with perindopril 4 mg/kg for two weeks was measured by a radioassay method 6 and 24 h after treatment. RESULTS: Treatment with perindopril caused a dose-dependent lowering of blood pressure in SHR during the 10-week treatment. After withdrawal of the treatment, persistent lowering of blood pressure was found in SHR treated with higher dosages (2 or 4 mg/kg), but not in the 1 mg/kg group. There was no difference in the tissue level of noradrenaline among the control group and SHR previously treated with perindopril. In SHR and WKY treated with perindopril for two weeks, plasma level of ACE activity was reduced longer than 24 h compared with their respective controls. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic treatment of adult SHR with perindopril has a dose-dependent effect on the blood pressure of these animals both during and after withdrawal of treatment, but such a treatment had no long term effects on the noradrenaline levels in various tissues.

Effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acids on red blood cell lipid composition and plasma metabolites in the cockatiel, Nymphicus hollandicus.

Although dietary n-3 fatty acids have been extensively studied in poultry, they have not yet been prospectively investigated in psittacines, despite potential benefits for preventing and treating atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, and other chronic disease processes. The objectives of this study were to investigate the incorporation of dietary n-3 fatty acids into red blood cells (RBC) and to determine the effects of supplementation of psittacine diets with fish or flax oil on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in the cockatiel. Adult cockatiels were fed a custom-formulated diet containing either 4% (wt/wt, as-fed) beef tallow (CON), 3% fish oil + 1% tallow (FSH), or 3.5% flax oil + 0.5% tallow (FLX; n = 20 per diet group). Baseline measurements were obtained for RBC fatty acid composition, triacylglycerides (TAG), and cholesterol. After 8 to 13 wk on the study diets, plasma chemistry profiles, lipoprotein density profiles, and RBC fatty acid composition were determined. At 8 wk, total plasma cholesterol was least in FSH birds (P < 0.05) and TAG concentrations were less in FSH birds than FLX birds (P < 0.05). Total n-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid were markedly greater in the RBC of FSH birds than FLX or CON birds (P < 0.05). Alpha linolenic acid was greatest in FLX (P < 0.05). Initial and final BW, and nonlipid plasma chemistry values did not differ among diet groups. No adverse effects of dietary supplementation of cockatiels with 3.5% flax oil or 3% fish oil were observed during the 13-wk feeding period. Although fish and flax oils provided similar total n-3 PUFA to the diets, fish oil caused greater reductions in cholesterol and TAG, and greater total RBC n-3 incorporation. Thus, dietary modification of psittacine diets with long chain n-3 PUFA from fish oil appears safe and may be beneficial to these long-lived companion birds.

Effects of chronic blockade of angiotensin II receptor on the maintenance of hypertension and vascular changes in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Previous studies have shown that chronic treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors is effective in causing the regression of hypertension and vascular structural changes in adult SHR. The purpose of this study was to determine the involvement of angiotensin type 1 receptors in the maintenance of hypertension and vascular changes in adult SHR. Three groups of 15-week-old male SHR were treated with three different doses of the angiotensin type 1 receptor antagonist L-158,809. After 12 weeks of treatment, average systolic blood pressure was reduced in a dose-dependent manner from 206 +/- 2 mmHg (1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa) in the control SHR to 154 +/- 7 mmHg in the 0.6 mg/kg group, 172 +/- 3 mmHg in the 0.3 mg/kg group, and 196 +/- 8 mmHg in the 0.1 mg/kg group. Withdrawal of the treatment caused a rapid rise in blood pressure within 1 week, and 14-16 weeks after treatment had been withdrawn, blood pressure of SHR treated with the highest dose had increased to 169 +/- 8 mmHg. Blood pressure of the SHR treated with the two lower doses had increased to the level of the untreated SHR. Mean blood pressure, diastolic pressure, and pulse pressure were significantly reduced in the SHR treated with 0.6 mg/kg L-158,809. The arterial media cross-sectional area and media to lumen ratio were reduced by L-158,809 treatment (0.6 mg/kg dose). Treatment did not affect body weight or heart rate. Contractile response of the mesenteric arteries to nerve or norepinephrine stimulation was not affected by the treatment. However, arteries from treated SHR did not show an angiotensin II potentiation of nerve-stimulated response, as was observed in the control SHR. We conclude that persistent control of blood pressure by treatment with L-158,809 is associated with its effects on the structure and function of the arteries in the SHR.

Substance use disorders in a sample of Canadian patients with chronic mental illness.

In a study designed to investigate the pattern of substance use disorders among a group of chronic mentally ill patients in Toronto, 102 patients completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and a modified substance-use-disorder module of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Forty percent of the sample met criteria for substance use disorders, and 49 percent for personality disorder. Among patients with personality disorder, all those with a personality disorder in cluster B (that is, with antisocial, borderline, histrionic, or narcissistic personality disorder) had a substance use disorder, while the majority of patients in cluster A and cluster C were not substance abusers. In the overall sample, the group with substance use disorders was significantly younger than the group without. In contrast to findings of previous studies, women met criteria for substance use disorders as often as men did.

Clinical issues in social network therapy for clients with schizophrenia.

Social networks are viable foci for therapeutic interventions. A social network therapy program for clients with schizophrenia was developed by a community-based mental health agency. This paper presents four of the most common clinical issues encountered and illustrates each with a case example.

Inpatient treatment of persistent somatization.

Patients with disabling, persistent somatization pose significant challenges in clinical management. This study describes 92 patients treated on an inpatient psychosomatic medicine unit for persistent somatization. The most important factor in defining clinically significant subgroups of these patients was mood. Compared with depressed somatizing patients, nondepressed somatizing patients had chronic illnesses of early onset, had symptoms that were not correlated with current life stressors, and were generally unresponsive to treatment. There were few clinical predictors of treatment outcome apart from the duration of symptoms, the presence of mood disturbance, and a history of stable interpersonal relationships.