Interictal cardiac autonomic nervous system disturbances in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in the interictal period (InIp) in dogs with presumed idiopathic epilepsy (pIE) was assessed using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. The HRVs obtained from 28 pIE dogs with interictal epileptic discharges (InIEd; 11 with treatment and 17 without treatment) detected on electroencephalography (EEG) were compared with those obtained from 13 healthy dogs. On electrocardiographic (ECG) study, the P wave dispersion (PWD; P<0.001), P max (P=0.004) and corrected QT interval (QTc; P=0.025) were significantly increased in the pIE group. On the basis of HRV analysis, the pIE dogs had an increased activity of the parasympathetic component of the ANS, including the percentage of R-R interval (pNN50%) that differs more than 50ms (P=0.011) and high frequency band (HF; P=0.041). Administration of phenobarbitone had no influence on the ANS pattern when pIE subgroups were compared (P>0.05). In InIp, dogs elicited specific conductibility delays of the electrical impulses (increased PWD and QTc interval); these delays are considered to be risk factors for developing severe arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. When compared with human beings, a different ANS pattern characterised by increased parasympathetic activity was observed, which may influence the therapeutic approach of IE in dogs.

Brainstem auditory evoked responses in healthy Argentine Mastiff dogs recorded with surface electrodes / Evocado auditivo de respostas em cães Mastiff argentino saudáveis rever utilizando eletrodos de superfície

Evocado auditivo de respostas ­ BAER ) foi gravado utilizando eletrodos de superfície em sete cães Mastiff argentino saudáveis para estimulações monoaural e binaural em intensidades sonoras de 90 dB NPS . As latências e amplitudes das ondas I, III e V bem como os intervalos InterWave I- III , III -V e IV foram calculados. As diferenças estatísticas foram obtidas para as ondas III e latências V, amplitudes das ondas III e intervalos I- III e I-V entre mono e estimulação binaural. Por serem uma das raças geneticamente predispostas à surdez congênita, obtendo valores de referência BAER, os cães Mastiff argentino têm uma importância clínica especial.(AU)

[A psychological profile of subjects from industrial sectors with cardiovascular diseases interviewed via the H. J. Eysenck questionnaire]. / Un profil psychologique des sujets souffrant d'affections cardio-vasculaires de certains secteurs industriels, interrogés au moyen du questionnaire "H. J. Eysenck".

Authors in the literature are unanimous in considering type A personality as an individual characteristic susceptible to cardiovascular risk. The latter, in its turn, is regarded, after H. J. Eysenck [4], as an association of the scores of extroversion and neurosis. Starting from this assumption, we set out to outline a profile of the cardiovascular patient using the "Eysenck" questionnaire. The study population included 126 industrial workers compared to a matching control set. The resulting profile displayed neurotic components within an ego perpetually frustrated in its needs of well-being, emotional satisfaction and rewarding social relations (-1,dark blue, Lüscher colour test in its shortened variant). Stress and introversion foster neuroticism and encourage the ego in its compulsive quest for autonomy, "eccentric" behaviour in actual situations and egocentric attitudes in reserve. Findings suggest that the "H. J. Eysenck" test for introversion-extroversion and neuroticism, as well as the Lüscher colour test (the shortened variant) are likely to be useful predictive tools in cardiovascular disease.