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The investigation of acute phase proteins in veterinary medicine has opened the doors towards the identification and use of new markers for a timely assessment of health status in both companion and food-producing animals. The aim of this paper is to review the literature available on the use of serum amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein, for the diagnosis and monitoring of reproductive disorders in animals. This review critically appraises the usefulness of such marker in clinical practice and summarizes the current state of knowledge. Recent advances in the diagnosis and monitoring of reproductive diseases are presented, highlighting where SAA evaluation may enhance early diagnostic tools for dogs, cats, cattle, and equines.

Many horses exhibit stereotypies, especially when living in human controlled environments that may prevent horses from satisfying natural needs in terms of feeding, drinking, moving, and socializing. In human medicine, obsessive compulsive disorder and other severe psychiatric disturbances are associated with stereotypic behaviors; salivary biomarkers evaluation is considered a reliable tool for diagnosis of common mental health disorders because saliva collection easy to obtain and noninvasive. In this study, we hypothesized that salivary cortisol concentrations, in addition to alpha-amylase (sAA) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities, are considered stress biomarkers that may be influenced in horses trained for racing competition with stereotypic behaviors. Saliva at rest condition was obtained from ten non-stereotypic Thoroughbreds horses involved in high-level competition; eleven Thoroughbreds high-level competition horses showing stereotypic behaviors, and five Thoroughbreds leisure non-competition horses. Cortisol was found to be higher in high-level competition non-stereotypic horses and sAA was significantly higher in non-stereotypic leisure horses when compared to horses involved in competition, while BChE did not change between groups. These results may represent the basis for further behavioural evaluation to elucidate how stereotypic horses and horses involved in competition overcome stressful situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Food-responsive enteropathy is a chronic enteropathy of dogs managed with dietary changes; frequently, in such disease, more than one dietary trial is needed to resolve the condition. No clear predispositions are reported for the disease, and the response to the diet varies from subject to subject; additionally, very little literature is available about the possible role of the diet fed before the disease onset. The present study reports the clinical progression of 222 dogs diagnosed with food-responsive enteropathy (to the authors' knowledge, the largest cohort of FRE dogs present in the international literature as single research) and compares clinical variables with diets and breeds. The authors believe that considering the number of patients included and the variables investigated, the present study could represent a reference for future ones. Food-responsive enteropathy (FRE) is the most frequent form of canine chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE). It can be diagnosed if, after excluding known causes of diarrhea, clinical signs resolve or significantly improve after an appropriate dietary trial. No universal diet can resolve the clinical signs in every case of FRE, as genetic predisposition and environment (e.g., the possible role of the diet feed before the disease onset) are suggested as possible players. The study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the possible correlations between disease, diet, and breed in a large cohort of dogs (n = 222) suffering from FRE. Throughout the study, dogs differed based on dietary options: commercial diet group, homemade diet group, and mixed diet group. Diet, breed, age, body weight, body condition score (BCS), fecal score (FS), canine chronic enteropathy activity index (CCECAI), and selected clinical signs were variably evaluated at T0 and at final time (FT—based on response to the diet[s], but between 30 and 60 days). Significant differences between T0 and FT were found regarding FS, BCS, and CCECAI, as well as between age, BCS, and CCECAI at FT with the FS at FT. The CCECAI at FT was significantly directly correlated only with the shift from a mixed to a homemade diet. Finally, the multiple linear regression analysis between the covariables of different breeds versus clinical response to the dietary trials did not highlight any difference except for the passage from commercial to mixed diet in a specific subgroup of breeds. The present study reports the clinical progression in 222 dogs suffering from FRE, and it could represent a reference for the variables investigated, considering the large number of patients included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Surgical wound management may represent a challenge due to possible complications and drug consumption. The present paper explores a novel fluorescence-based photobiomodulation (FLE) device as a wound management option in female dogs undergoing surgery for mammary cancer. Nine bitches received unilateral or bilateral mastectomy, and half of the wound was managed with FLE (a blue LED device that illuminates a roughly 2 mm layer of fluorescence-producing gel), while the remain part of the wound received no FLE. The illumination was repeated twice in the same session (one minute apart) and five days apart. Neither antimicrobials nor other drugs were administered to the dogs. All wound portions managed with fluorescent photobiomodulation showed a notably better quality of wound healing in terms of having fewer step-off borders, negligeable contour irregularities, and an absence of scar distortion. Moreover, when taking into account inflammatory indexes such as erythema, edema, and serous discharge, these were registered as being significantly lower for those wound portions illuminated with fluorescent photobiomodulation. The outcomes of this preliminary study underscore the positive impact of fluorescent photobiomodulation on the healing of post-mastectomy wounds in female dogs, with the chance to potentially replace certain topical treatments and improve the overall compliance of owners. Mammary gland tumors represent the most frequently diagnosed malignant neoplasm in intact female dogs, and surgical removal represents the current gold standard treatment. To promote wound healing and prevent possible bacterial contamination, perioperative antimicrobials are commonly used in clinical practice, even though there are no publications establishing guidelines for the use of such drugs in canine mastectomy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ameliorative effect of fluorescent light energy on the quality of the healing process after mastectomy surgery in female dogs, in the absence of perioperative antimicrobial administration. Nine female dogs received a multiple-gland mastectomy due to gland tumors and received FLE application immediately after surgery and then five days after. The surgical incisions were evaluated by a blind investigator over time using the Modified Hollander Cosmesis and Modified Draize Wound Healing Score systems. Statistical analysis revealed a significant ameliorative effect of FLE in the control of step-off borders, contour irregularities, and excessive distortion. In addition, erythema, edema, and serous discharge were lower for those wounds managed with FLE. These results underscore the advantageous impact of FLE on the healing of post-mastectomy wounds in female dogs, offering the dual benefits of reducing potential infection risks and lessening the home care burden for pet owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intramuscular administration of p62/SQSTM1 (sequestosome1)‐encoding plasmid demonstrated an anticancer effect in rodent models and dogs as well as a high safety profile and the first evidence of clinical benefits in humans. Also, an anti‐inflammatory effect of the plasmid was reported in several rodent disease models. Yet, the mechanisms of action for the p62 plasmid remain unknown. Here, we tested a hypothesis that the p62‐plasmid can act through the modulation of bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal cells (MSCs). We demonstrated that a p62 plasmid can affect MSCs indirectly by stimulating p62‐transfected cells to secrete an active ingredient(s) sensed by untransfected MSCs. When we transfected MSCs with the p62‐plasmid, collected their supernatant, and added it to an untransfected MSCs culture, it switched the differentiation state and prompt osteogenic responses of the untransfected MSCs. According to an accepted viewpoint, ovariectomy leads to bone pathology via dysregulation of MSCs, and restoring the MSC homeostasis would restore ovariectomy‐induced bone damage. To validate our in vitro observations in a clinically relevant in vivo model, we administered the p62 plasmid to ovariectomized rats. It partially reversed bone loss and notably reduced adipogenesis with concurrent reestablishing of the MSC subpopulation pool within the bone marrow. Overall, our study suggests that remote modulation of progenitor MSCs via administering a p62‐encoding plasmid may constitute a mechanism for its previously reported effects and presents a feasible disease‐preventing and/or therapeutic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]