@article{walker_defrancesco_bonagura_keene_meurs_tou_kurtz_aona_barron_mcmanamey_et al._2022, title={Association of diet with clinical outcomes in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure*}, volume={40}, ISSN={["1875-0834"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.jvc.2021.02.001}, abstractNote={Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs has been associated with feeding of grain-free (GF), legume-rich diets. Some dogs with presumed diet-associated DCM have shown improved myocardial function and clinical outcomes following a change in diet and standard medical therapy.Prior GF (pGF) diet influences reverse cardiac remodeling and clinical outcomes in dogs with DCM and congestive heart failure (CHF).A retrospective study was performed with 67 dogs with DCM and CHF for which diet history was known. Dogs were grouped by diet into pGF and grain-inclusive (GI) groups. Dogs in the pGF group were included if diet change was a component of therapy. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and the Cox proportional-hazards model.The median survival time was 344 days for pGF dogs vs. 253 days for GI dogs (P = 0.074). Statistically significant differences in median survival were identified when the analysis was limited to dogs surviving longer than one week (P = 0.033). Prior GF dogs had a significantly worse outcome the longer a GF diet was fed prior to diagnosis (P = 0.004) or if they were diagnosed at a younger age (P = 0.017). Prior GF dogs showed significantly greater improvement in normalized left ventricular internal diastolic diameter (P = 0.038) and E-point septal separation (P = 0.031) measurements and significant decreases in their furosemide (P = 0.009) and pimobendan (P < 0.005) dosages over time compared to GI dogs.Prior GF dogs that survived at least one week after diagnosis of DCM, treatment of CHF, and diet change had better clinical outcomes and showed reverse ventricular remodeling compared to GI dogs.}, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY CARDIOLOGY}, author={Walker, A. L. and DeFrancesco, T. C. and Bonagura, J. D. and Keene, B. W. and Meurs, K. M. and Tou, S. P. and Kurtz, K. and Aona, B. and Barron, L. and McManamey, A. and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Apr}, pages={99–109} }
 @article{cunningham_aona_antoon_rush_barton_2018, title={Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular systolic function in Boxers with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy}, volume={20}, ISSN={["1875-0834"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.jvc.2018.07.005}, abstractNote={To determine whether there are differences in measures of longitudinal right ventricular (RV) systolic function among Boxers with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) compared with healthy control Boxer dogs. To explore relationships between markers of RV systolic function and age, body weight, gender, arrhythmia frequency, and markers of left ventricular (LV) systolic function in Boxer dogs.The study included 50 client-owned Boxer dogs.This is a retrospective echocardiographic study. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and pulsed wave tissue Doppler imaging-derived systolic myocardial velocity of the lateral tricuspid annulus (S') were measured in healthy control Boxers (n = 18), Boxers with ARVC and normal LV systolic function (n = 19), and Boxers with ARVC and reduced LV systolic function (n = 13).Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (p=0.002) and S' (p=0.001) were significantly different between affected and control groups. Significant correlations were found between measures of left heart size and function and both TAPSE and S'. No correlations were found between RV function parameters and age, gender, or body weight in this fairly homogeneous, single-breed population. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that both TAPSE and S' had an area under the curve of 0.77 in distinguishing healthy Boxers from those with ARVC.Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and S' are reduced in Boxers with ARVC. In contrast to prior studies evaluating these parameters in dogs of different breeds and body types, no correlation was found between markers of RV function and body weight in this population of Boxer dogs.}, number={5}, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY CARDIOLOGY}, author={Cunningham, S. M. and Aona, B. D. and Antoon, K. and Rush, J. E. and Barton, B. A.}, year={2018}, month={Oct}, pages={343–353} }
 @article{adin_defrancesco_keene_tou_meurs_atkins_aona_kurtz_barron_saker_et al._2019, title={Echocardiographic phenotype of canine dilated cardiomyopathy differs based on diet type}, volume={21}, ISSN={["1875-0834"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.jvc.2018.11.002}, abstractNote={Canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) can result from numerous etiologies including genetic mutations, infections, toxins, and nutritional imbalances. This study sought to characterize differences in echocardiographic findings between dogs with DCM fed grain-free (GF) diets and grain-based (GB) diets.Forty-eight dogs with DCM and known diet history.This was a retrospective analysis of dogs with DCM from January 1, 2015 to May 1, 2018 with a known diet history. Dogs were grouped by diet (GF and GB), and the GF group was further divided into dogs eating the most common grain-free diet (GF-1) and other grain-free diets (GF-o). Demographics, diet history, echocardiographic parameters, taurine concentrations, and vertebral heart scale were compared between GB, all GF, GF-1, and GF-o groups at diagnosis and recheck.Dogs eating GF-1 weighed less than GB and GF-o dogs, but age and sex were not different between groups. Left ventricular size in diastole and systole was greater, and sphericity index was less for GF-1 compared with GB dogs. Diastolic left ventricular size was greater for all GF compared with that of GB dogs. Fractional shortening, left atrial size, and vertebral heart scale were not different between groups. Taurine deficiency was not identified in GF dogs, and presence of congestive heart failure was not different between groups. Seven dogs that were reevaluated after diet change (6 received taurine supplementation) had clinical and echocardiographic improvement.Dietary-associated DCM occurs with some GF diets and can improve with nutritional management, including diet change. The role of taurine supplementation, even without deficiency, is uncertain.}, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY CARDIOLOGY}, author={Adin, Darcy and DeFrancesco, Teresa and Keene, Bruce and Tou, Sandra and Meurs, Kathryn and Atkins, Clarke and Aona, Brent and Kurtz, Kari and Barron, Lara and Saker, Korinn and et al.}, year={2019}, month={Feb}, pages={1–9} }
 @article{ward_lisciandro_ware_viall_aona_kurtz_reina-doreste_defrancesco_2018, title={Evaluation of point-of-care thoracic ultrasound and NT-proBNP for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure in cats with respiratory distress}, volume={32}, ISSN={["1939-1676"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15246}, DOI={10.1111/jvim.15246}, abstractNote={BackgroundThe diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) in cats is challenging. Point‐of‐care (POC) thoracic ultrasound and NT‐proBNP testing are emerging tools that may aid in diagnosis.Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo assess the diagnostic accuracy of POC lung ultrasound (LUS), focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU), and NT‐proBNP in predicting a final diagnosis of CHF.AnimalsFifty‐one cats in respiratory distress.MethodsBlood NT‐proBNP, LUS, and FCU evaluating left atrial (LA) size and presence of pericardial effusion (PCEFF) were performed in all cats. Lung ultrasound findings including pleural effusion (PLEFF), number of B‐lines, and sub‐pleural abnormalities were noted. Medical records were evaluated for final diagnosis.ResultsThirty‐three of 51 (65%) cats were diagnosed with CHF. Lung ultrasound and blood NT‐proBNP were significant predictors of CHF in a multivariate model. The LUS criterion that maximized accuracy for CHF diagnosis was presence of >1 site strongly positive for B‐lines (>3 B‐lines per site), resulting in sensitivity of 78.8%, specificity of 83.3%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.833. Subjective LA enlargement was 97.0% sensitive and 100% specific for CHF (AUC 0.985). Presence of PCEFF also was 100% specific, but only 60.6% sensitive, for CHF (AUC 0.803). A positive blood NT‐proBNP test was 93.9% sensitive and 72.2% specific for the diagnosis of CHF (AUC 0.831).Conclusions and Clinical ImportancePoint‐of‐care diagnostic techniques of LUS, FCU, and NT‐proBNP are useful to diagnose CHF in cats with respiratory distress.}, number={5}, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE}, author={Ward, Jessica L. and Lisciandro, Gregory R. and Ware, Wendy A. and Viall, Austin K. and Aona, Brent D. and Kurtz, Kari A. and Reina-Doreste, Yamir and DeFrancesco, Teresa C.}, year={2018}, pages={1530–1540} }
 @article{meurs_stern_atkins_adin_aona_condit_defrancesco_reina-doreste_keene_tou_et al._2017, title={Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and inhibition in dogs with cardiac disease and an angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphism}, volume={18}, ISSN={["1752-8976"]}, url={https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5843865}, DOI={10.1177/1470320317737184}, abstractNote={Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in dogs and with and without an ACE polymorphism in the canine ACE gene, before and after treatment with an ACE inhibitor. Methods: Thirty-one dogs (20 wild-type, 11 ACE polymorphism) with heart disease were evaluated with ACE activity measurement and systolic blood pressure before and after administration of an ACE inhibitor (enalapril). Results: Median pre-treatment ACE activity was significantly lower for ACE polymorphism dogs than for dogs with the wild-type sequence (P=0.007). After two weeks of an ACE inhibitor, ACE activity was significantly reduced for both genotypes (wild-type, P<0.0001; ACE polymorphism P=0.03); mean post-therapy ACE activity was no different between the groups. Conclusion: An ACE polymorphism is associated with lower levels of ACE activity. Dogs with the polymorphism still experience suppression of ACE activity in response to an ACE inhibitor. It is possible that the genetic status and ACE activity of dogs may impact the response of dogs with this variant to an ACE inhibitor.}, number={4}, journal={JOURNAL OF THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN-ALDOSTERONE SYSTEM}, author={Meurs, Kathryn M. and Stern, Joshua A. and Atkins, Clarke E. and Adin, Darcy and Aona, Brent and Condit, Julia and DeFrancesco, Teresa and Reina-Doreste, Yamir and Keene, Bruce W. and Tou, Sandy and et al.}, year={2017}, month={Oct} }
 @article{meurs_friedenberg_williams_keene_atkins_adin_aona_defrancesco_tou_mackay_et al._2018, title={Evaluation of genes associated with human myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs with familial myxomatous mitral valve degeneration}, volume={232}, ISSN={["1532-2971"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.12.002}, abstractNote={Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common heart disease in the dog. It is believed to be heritable in Cavalier King Charles spaniels (CKCS) and Dachshunds. Myxomatous mitral valve disease is a familial disease in human beings as well and genetic mutations have been associated with its development. We hypothesized that a genetic mutation associated with the development of the human form of MMVD was associated with the development of canine MMVD. DNA was isolated from blood samples from 10 CKCS and 10 Dachshunds diagnosed with MMVD, and whole genome sequences from each animal were obtained. Variant calling from whole genome sequencing data was performed using a standardized bioinformatics pipeline for all samples. After filtering, the canine genes orthologous to the human genes known to be associated with MMVD were identified and variants were assessed for likely pathogenic implications. No variant was found in any of the genes evaluated that was present in least eight of 10 affected CKCS or Dachshunds. Although mitral valve disease in the CKCS and Dachshund is a familial disease, we did not identify genetic cause in the genes responsible for the human disease in the dogs studied here.}, journal={VETERINARY JOURNAL}, author={Meurs, Kathryn and Friedenberg, S. G. and Williams, B. and Keene, B. W. and Atkins, C. E. and Adin, D. and Aona, B. and DeFrancesco, Teresa and Tou, S. and Mackay, T. and et al.}, year={2018}, month={Feb}, pages={16–19} }