Changes in auditory brainstem response (ABR) in Kanamycin-induced auditory disturbance model rats.

This study was designed to evaluate changes in auditory brainstem response (ABR) in the course of auditory disturbance in rats induced by Kanamycin (KM). KM was administered subcutaneously to 12 CD (SD) male rats aged 6 weeks for 10 days at a dose of 800 mg/kg. Death was observed in one male on day 8 and 2 males on day 10. It was thought that kidney damage was the cause of death from histopathological findings. ABR was recorded before KM treatment and on days 4, 8, 10 and 11 after KM treatment. The ABR changes after KM treatment in rats were as follows. On day 4, 6 rats showed an increase in amplitude of waves I and/or II and on day 8, among those, 4 rats still showed a high amplitude of waves I and/or II. On day 8, 2 rats showed an elevation of ABR threshold (15-40 dB SPL) and a decrease in amplitude of wave I and increase in amplitude of wave II at the same time. On day 11, 7 rats showed a decrease in amplitude of wave I. In addition, ABR threshold shifts (10-70 dB SPL) were observed in those rats. In ABR recording, KM-induced auditory disturbance model rats showed an increase in amplitude of waves I and/or II earlier than an ABR threshold shift. By analyzing temporal alteration of amplitude of the ABR components, we could detect precursory phenomenon of the auditory disturbance at an early phase of treatment. By following the pathway of click-ABR and tone pip-ABR examination, the auditory disturbance of low- frequency to high-frequency range could be analyzed at an early date in detail.

Effects of pimobendan for mitral valve regurgitation in dogs.

Pimobendan has a dual mechanism of action: it increases myocardial contractility by increasing calcium sensitization to troponin C and it promotes vasodilation by inhibiting PDEIII. This study examined the effects of pimobendan on cardiac function, hemodynamics, and neurohormonal factors in dogs with mild mitral regurgitation (MR). The dogs were given 0.25 mg/kg of pimobendan orally every 12 hr for 4 weeks. With pimobendan, the heart rate and stroke volume did not change, but the systolic blood pressure gradually decreased and the degree of mitral valve regurgitation tended to decrease. Renal blood flow was significantly increased and the glomerular filtration rate was slightly increased at 2 and 4 weeks. Furthermore, over the 4-week period, the plasma norepinephrine concentration decreased significantly, the systolic index increased slightly, the left atrial diameter and the left ventricular diameters decreased significantly, and the heart size improved. Given these results, pimobendan appears to be useful for treating MR in dogs. However, further long-term studies of pimobendan involving a larger number of dogs with mild and moderate MR are needed to establish the safety of pimobendan and document improvements in quality of life.