Sport Medicine

Practical relevance: There is an increasing demand for effective postoperative and post-injury rehabilitation for any cat with compromised physical function due to injury, surgery or disease. Clinical challenges: The design of a suitable rehabilitation programme that will assist the recovery process, as well as ensure the return of neuromusculoskeletal control to the highest levels of function possible, requires a good understanding of feline behaviour, accurate assessment of the cat's condition and the correct implementation of a range of physiotherapeutic modalities.

Objective-To isolate and characterize mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from canine muscle and periosteum and compare proliferative capacities of bone marrow-, adipose tissue-, muscle-, and periosteum-derived MSCs (BMSCs, AMSCs, MMSCs, and PMSCs, respectively). Sample-7 canine cadavers. Procedures-MSCs were characterized on the basis of morphology, immunofluorescence of MSC-associated cell surface markers, and expression of pluripotency-associated transcription factors.

Objective-To assess joint kinematics in dogs with osteoarthritis of the hip joints during walking up an incline or down a decline and over low obstacles and to compare findings with data for nonlame dogs. Animals-10 dogs with osteoarthritis of the hip joints (mean ± SD age, 6.95 ± 3.17 years; mean body weight, 34.33 ± 13.58 kg) and 8 nonlame dogs (3.4 ± 2.0 years; 23.6 ± 4.6 kg). Procedures-Reflective markers located on the limbs and high-speed cameras were used to record joint kinematics during walking up an incline or down a decline and over low obstacles.

Objective-To evaluate the accuracy of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for use in predicting subjective diagnostic scores of lameness with variables determined from ground reaction force (GRF) data. Animals-21 adult mixed-breed dogs. Procedures-The left cranial cruciate ligament of each dog was transected to induce osteoarthritis of the stifle joint as part of another study. Lameness scores were assigned and GRF data were collected 2 times before and 5 times after ligament transection. Inputs and the output for each ANN were GRF variables and a lameness score, respectively.