Germán Santamarina

• University of Santiago de Compostela

This study was designed to assess the effect of puppies and juvenile dogs' attendance at puppy classes on the behavior of the dogs at their adult age. For this purpose, 80 dogs (32 of which had attended puppy classes and the other 48 had not) were evaluated using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire that was filled out by own...

These proceedings contain oral and poster presentations from various experts on animal behaviour and animal welfare in veterinary medicine presented at the conference.

Yessotoxins (YTX) and azaspiracids (AZAs) are marine toxins produced by phytoplanktonic dinoflagellates that get accumulated in filter feeding shellfish and finally reach human consumers through the food web. Both toxin classes are worldwide distributed, and food safety authorities have regulated their content in shellfish in many countries. Recent...

Yessotoxin (YTX) is a marine phycotoxin produced by dinoflagellates and accumulated in filter feeding shellfish. YTX content in shellfish is regulated by many food safety authorities to protect human health, although currently no human intoxication episodes have been unequivocally related to YTX presence in food. The immune system has been proposed...

Yessotoxin (YTX) is a marine phycotoxin produced by dinoflagellates and accumulated in filter feeding shellfish. Although no human intoxication episodes have been reported, YTXs content in shellfish is regulated by many food safety authorities due to their worldwide distribution. YTXs have been related to ultrastructural heart damage in vivo, but t...

Azaspiracids (AZAs) are marine toxins produced by Azadinium spinosum that get accumulated in filter feeding shellfish through the food-web. The first intoxication was described in The Netherlands in 1990 and since then several episodes have been reported worldwide. AZA-1, AZA-2 and AZA-3 presence in shellfish is regulated by food safety authorities...

Phycotoxins are marine toxins produced by phytoplankton that can get accumulated in filter feeding shellfish. Human intoxication episodes occur due to contaminated seafood consumption. Okadaic acid (OA) and dynophysistoxins (DTXs) are phycotoxins responsible for a severe gastrointestinal syndrome called diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP). Yessotox...

Abstract A 5-year-old neutered male cat was examined for a 1 month history of purulent nasal and left ocular discharge. In addition to this discharge, neurological signs consistent with a lesion in the right supratentorial area with secondary mass effect were seen. Computed tomography (CT) findings included extensive left frontal sinusitis with sev...

Neprilysin (NEP) is the principal amyloid β (Aβ) degrading peptidase; this activity may protect against Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most important age-related neurodegenerative process. The aim of this work was to analyze NEP mRNA expression in the frontal cortex of dogs with and without canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), which is consi...

Dogs exhibit age-dependent losses in learning and memory as well as a progressive accumulation of neuropathology that parallels that observed in normal human aging and early Alzheimer’s disease. These deficits have been extensively studied using a number of standard cognitive tasks in the laboratory; however, appropriate tools for their assessment...

Azaspiracids (AZAs) are marine biotoxins produced by the dinoflagellate Azadinium spinosum that accumulate in several shellfish species. Azaspiracid poisoning episodes have been described in humans due to ingestion of AZA-contaminated seafood. Therefore, the contents of AZA-1, AZA-2 and AZA-3, the best-known analogs of the group, in shellfish desti...

Changes in social interactions with owners and other dogs are frequently observed in dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). The aim of this work was to assess the effect of age and severity of CDS on social responsiveness. This is the second part of a 2-part report on spontaneous activity in pet dogs. A human interaction test and a mirror...

The canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) has been identified as a natural model for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have used unbiased stereology to estimate the total number of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons expressing the nerve growth factor p75NTR receptor in young, aged cognitively-unimpaired (CU) and aged cognitively-impaired (CI) dog...

Pleural effusion is the accumulation of fluid in the pleural space and may be a primary manifestation or a secondary complication of many processes. Pleural effusion is a common disorder in dogs and cats. Presentation is very variable, depending on the underlying disease, the volume of the effusion and the rate of formation. Sometimes it may be asy...

Aging dogs naturally demonstrate cognitive impairment and neuropathology that model early Alzheimer's disease (AD). In particular, there is evidence that canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) in aged dogs is accompanied by cortical deposition of Aβ peptides and neurodegeneration. Plasma Aβ levels have been examined in humans as putative bioma...

Infective endocarditis is a systemic disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. It primarily affects to middle-aged to older large-breed dogs. Bacterial endocarditis presents many challenges with respect to diagnosis and effective treatment. Auscultation can provide clues regarding valvular involvement, particularly when a diastolic left...

Currently most active immunotherapies for Alzheimer disease relay in immunization against N-terminal fragments of the peptides. C-terminal fragments of A β have been disfavored by the idea that this region of the peptide bears the epitopes recognized by T cell, which were blamed as responsible of the aseptic meningoencephalitis that occurred in a 6...

Pilot study in Beagle dogs vaccinated and a reliable quantification of AB in blood as a biomarker for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

A 7-year-old spayed female English Cocker Spaniel was examined because of a 1-week history of lethargy, stumbling over objects and circling, and the presence of two tonic-clonic generalised seizures two days before presentation. The neurological signs suggested a lesion involving the right forebrain. Computed tomography revealed the presence of two...

Dogs may naturally suffer an age-related cognitive impairment that has aroused a great deal of interest, even beyond the field of the veterinary clinic. This canine senile dementia reproduces several key aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including the presence of beta-amyloid (A beta) deposits in the cerebral cortex, neurodegeneration, and learn...

Degeneration of noradrenergic neurons in the locus ceruleus is a well-described feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In spite of extensive utilization of the dog as a model for human degenerative diseases, there is no data on the response to aging of the noradrenergic system in dogs. We have used modern unbiased stereology to estimate the total num...

The present work describes for the first time the anatomical distribution of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) immunoreactivity and NADPH-d activity in the basal forebrain of the dog. As in other species, small, intensely nNOS-immunoreactive cells were seen within the olfactory tubercle, caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens and amygdala....

Formulation of rations to induce a compensated metabolic acidosis in the post-partum cow has proved a useful strategy for prevention of milk fever. Such acidification improves the ability of the animal to maintain calcium homeostasis by promoting the absorption of calcium from the intestine and mobilization of calcium from the bone. In humans, an a...

SUMMARY Milk fever is one of the most common metabolic diseases of dairy cattle. Of the various methods used in attempting to control t he disease, most progress has been made in terms of dietary management. Many authors have shown that adding anionic salts to a rat ion has dramatic effects on the incidence of milk fever. Anionic salts are added to...

Milk fever is one of the most common metabolic diseases of dairy cattle. Of the various methods used in attempting to control the disease, most progress has been made in terms of dietary management. Many authors have shown that adding anionic salts to a ration has dramatic effects on the incidence of milk fever. Anionic salts are added to the diet...

SUMMARY Doppler ultrasonography is a new technique used in small animal sonography. The knowledge of the normal Doppler signs of each blood vessel is important in their identification because it is necessary for recognize pathologic changes. Ten dogs, five males and five females, were examined without sedation. Imaged in a transverse plane, was cal...

Para poder realizar un diagnóstico correcto de la aorta abdominal mediante Doppler duplex vascular es necesario un buen conocimiento del espectro Doppler característico y de los resultados obtenidos respecto de los parámetros de flujo. Para ello, se usaron diez perros adultos, cinco machos y cinco hembras, de la raza Beagle, sin someterlos a tranqu...

The beneficial effects of anionic salts on calcium metabolism have been shown by supplementing rations with such salts during the last 3 weeks of pre-partum. However, there are few reports on the effects of anionic salts supplementation for periods of 4 weeks or longer on acid-base status, mineral metabolism and bone morphology. This study was cond...

The ionophore lasalocid has been used as a feed additive for broilers chickens and for improving feed efficiency in ruminants. Although dogs appear to be more sensitive to lasalocid intoxication than other species, there is only 1 report in the veterinary literature about lasalocid poisoning in dogs. We describe the clinical signs, treatment and re...

Urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by Corynebacterium urealyticum is a rarely recognised condition in veterinary medicine. This report describes a case in a 13-month-old dog which presented with a history of dysuria and haematuria. C urealyticum was identified as the cause of UTI. The clinical, radiological and ultrasonographic features and the r...

Separation anxiety in dogs is a complex behavioral syndrome produced by many causes. A hunter 4y-old male Argentinean Bulldog had dental disturbances and gastrointestinal and cutaneous symptoms due to high plasma zinc and low copper and calcium plasma concentration. His behavior made him bite galvanized wire fences in his cage and bunk that contain...

A case of a partial atrial canal defect is described in a nine-month-old female English setter. The patient had a large ostium primum atrial septal defect and a concurrent malformation of the mitral valve. Electrocardiographic and radiographic findings were suggestive of marked enlargement of the right heart and pulmonary overcirculation. Definitiv...

Electrocardiographic parameters were measured in 28 free-ranging roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded in base-apex lead, standard bipolar limb leads (I, II, III), and augmented unipolar limb leads (aVR, aVL, aVF). Morphology and amplitude of P waves, QRS complexes, and T waves were analyzed in all seven leads....

Electrocardiographic reference values were established on apparently healthy buzzards (Buteo buteo) in Lugo (Spain) from March 1997 to June 1999. All birds were anesthetized with isofluorane and placed in dorsal recumbence. The standard and augmented unipolar limb leads electrocardiograms were recorded in 65 buzzards. The wave forms were analyzed i...

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS manifestation of EGS, possibly caused by abnormally extensive neurotoxicity. The enteropathy might reflect damage caused by the puta-tive grass sickness 'toxin' (Pollin and Griffiths 1992), or by bacterial overgrowth due to altered gut motility. The spleen and lymph node changes were consistent with a subsequent septicaemia, an...

We have studied and compared a "natural" and "experimental" intoxications by tanines in beef and dairy cows wich ingested oak acorn of Quercus spp. In both cases we have analized the evolution of some blood parameter, and we established their relations with clinical and lesional signs. It's impossible for us to reproduce the experimental form as a...