Glutamine has been used to treat canine patients with parvoviral enteritis. However, little is known about the effect of L-alanyl-L-glutamine (Ala-Gln) supplementation in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. The objective of this study was to determine whether Ala-Gln supplementation can improve dog survival and ameliorate clinical signs without adverse effects. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 39 client-owned dogs. The dogs were randomly assigned to two groups and administered either an Ala-Gln solution (Dipeptiven, 0.4 g/kg, n = 20) or an equivalent volume of placebo (n = 19) orally twice daily. Of the 39 dogs, 17 were vaccinated (n = 9 in the Ala-Gln-treated group and n – 9 in the placebo group). All dogs received standard treatment while hospitalized. The dogs were monitored according to a clinical scoring system and evaluated diagnostically daily for 11 days. Survival rates in both groups were quantified using Kaplan‒Meier survival curves and statistically compared using the log-rank test. The total score for clinical signs did not differ between the groups, except on day 2. The survival rates differed significantly (p=0.038). Three Ala-Gln-treated dogs (15.0%) died during the study, whereas eight dogs in the placebo group died (42.1%). No adverse effects were found to be associated with Ala-Gln treatment. Oral administration of Ala-Gln improves survival in dogs with parvoviral enteritis without causing adverse effects.

This study aimed to identify prognostic factors and describe the treatment outcomes of multidrug therapy in dogs with meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown etiology (MUE). A total of 23 dogs diagnosed with MUE were treated with prednisolone in combination with cyclosporine, cytosine arabinoside (CA), leflunomide, and mycophenolate mofetil. Based on the survival time, these dogs were divided into two groups: group A (n = 10), surviving for < 100 days, and group B (n = 13), surviving for > 100 days. Signalment, seizure activity, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis results, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings were reviewed. Survival studies were conducted to investigate the association of each prognostic factor and treatment with the clinical outcome. There were no significant differences in age, sex, body weight, occurrence of seizures, cell number and protein concentration in the CSF, or location of lesions between groups A and B. Abnormal MR features were more frequently observed in group A than in group B. It was identified that the longest median survival time was administration of multi-drug therapy including CA. In conclusion, abnormal MR features were associated with poor prognosis in dogs with MUE and CA-based multi-drug therapy could be considered the most effective treatment of MUE.

Vitamin K1 (VK1) has been widely used as a coumarin antagonist and for the treatment of hemorrhagic disease in veterinary practice. However, the potential mechanism of adverse reaction after VK1 injection has been not fully elucidated. In this study, two cases of anaphylactic reactions after subcutaneous VK1 injection were presented, and then an experimental study was performed to further characterize the anaphylactic reactions. Two dogs developed anaphylactic reactions after subcutaneous VK1 injections and were promptly treated with antihistamines and glucocorticoids, after which abnormal signs related to anaphylaxis disappeared. Subsequently, a study was undertaken to ascertain the nature of the adverse reactions to subcutaneous VK1 injection. Six healthy laboratory beagle dogs received subcutaneous VK1 administrations once daily for eight days. They were monitored for clinical signs after each injection, and blood samples were collected for the measurement of plasma histamine and immunoglobulin E concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All six dogs showed mild angioedema after the VK1 injections. The dogs also displayed clinical signs including sneezing, coughing, skin reddening, excess salivation, pawing the ground, and somnolence on days 4, 6, and 8. Plasma histamine and immunoglobulin E concentrations were significantly increased by the repeated injections. In summary, this study describes anaphylactic reactions resulting from subcutaneous VK1 administration in dogs. Clinicians should be aware that the repeated subcutaneous injection of VK1 can trigger an anaphylactic reaction in dogs.

The current interest in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is mainly due to its effect on human health.Exposure to outdoor PM is associated with a wide range of adverse health effects. Indoor air contains a complexmixture of bioaerosols such as bacteria, fungi and allergens. Children are known to be more susceptible tothe exposures of PM and bioaerosols which are represented by airborne bacteria, fungi, and allergens. Thisstudy is to assess concentrations of the atmospheric PM and bioaerosols indoors and outdoors at 15 daycarecenters for children located in Seoul. Particles were measured indoors and outdoors with automatic particlemonitoring using beta radiation absorption. Airborne bacteria and fungi were sampled by Anderson sampler.Analysis shows that average indoor PM10 was 95.7µg/m³ (SD 26.6µg/m³) and average level of airbornebacteria and fungi were 575.0CFU/m³ (SD 431.6CFU/m³) and 77.9CFU/m³ (SD 45.6CFU/m³), respectively.Finally, efficient ventilation and effective air cleaning strategies are necessary to reduce indoor concentrationsof particles and bioaerosols.