Longevity and mortality of cats attending primary care veterinary practices in England

Enhanced knowledge on longevity and mortality in cats should support improved breeding, husbandry, clinical care and disease prevention strategies. The VetCompass research database of primary care veterinary practice data offers an extensive resource of clinical health information on companion animals in the UK. This study aimed to characterise longevity and mortality in cats, and to identify important demographic risk factors for compromised longevity. Crossbred cats were hypothesised to live longer than purebred cats. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the deceased cats. Multivariable linear regression methods investigated risk factor association with longevity in cats that died at or after 5 years of age. From 118,016 cats attending 90 practices in England, 4009 cats with confirmed deaths were randomly selected for detailed study. Demographic characterisation showed that 3660 (91.7%) were crossbred, 2009 (50.7%) were female and 2599 (64.8%) were neutered. The most frequently attributed causes of mortality in cats of all ages were trauma (12.2%), renal disorder (12.1%), non-specific illness (11.2%), neoplasia (10.8%) and mass lesion disorders (10.2%). Overall, the median longevity was 14.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.0–17.0; range 0.0–26.7). Crossbred cats had a higher median longevity than purebred cats (median [IQR] 14.0 years [9.1–17.0] vs 12.5 years [6.1–16.4]; P \u3c0.001), but individual purebred cat breeds varied substantially in longevity. In cats dying at or after 5 years (n = 3360), being crossbred, having a lower bodyweight, and being neutered and non-insured were associated with increased longevity. This study described longevity in cats and identified important causes of mortality and breed-related associations with compromised longevity

Moving from information and collaboration to action: report from the 3rd International Dog Health Workshop, Paris in April 2017

Abstract Background Breed-related health problems in dogs have received increased focus over the last decade. Responsibility for causing and/or solving these problems has been variously directed towards dog breeders and kennel clubs, the veterinary profession, welfare scientists, owners, regulators, insurance companies and the media. In reality, all these stakeholders are likely to share some responsibility and optimal progress on resolving these challenges requires all key stakeholders to work together. The International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD), together with an alternating host organization, holds biennial meetings called the International Dog Health Workshops (IDHW). The Société Centrale Canine (French Kennel Club) hosted the 3rd IDHW, in Paris, in April, 2017. These meetings bring together a wide range of stakeholders in dog health, science and welfare to improve international sharing of information and resources, to provide a forum for ongoing collaboration, and to identify specific needs and actions to improve health, well-being and welfare in dogs. Results The workshop included 140 participants from 23 countries and was structured around six important issues facing those who work to improve dog health. These included individualized breed-specific strategies for health and breeding, extreme conformations, education and communication in relation to antimicrobial resistance, behavior and welfare, genetic testing and population-based evidence. A number of exciting actions were agreed during the meeting. These included setting up working groups to create tools to help breed clubs accelerate the implementation of breed-health strategies, review aspects of extreme conformation and share useful information on behavior. The meeting also heralded the development of an online resource of relevant information describing quality measures for DNA testing. A demand for more and better data and evidence was a recurring message stressed across all themes. Conclusions The meeting confirmed the benefits from inclusion of a diverse range of stakeholders who all play relevant and collaborative parts to improve future canine health. Firm actions were set for progress towards improving breed-related welfare. The next international workshop will be in the UK in 2019 and will be organized by the UK Kennel Club

Labrador retrievers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders

Abstract Background Labrador retrievers are reportedly predisposed to many disorders but accurate prevalence information relating to the general population are lacking. This study aimed to describe demography, mortality and commonly recorded diseases in Labrador retrievers under UK veterinary care. Methods The VetCompass™ programme collects electronic patient record data on dogs attending UK primary-care veterinary practices. Demographic analysis covered all33,320 Labrador retrievers in the VetCompass™ database under veterinary care during 2013 while disorder and mortality data were extracted from a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) of these dogs. Results Of the Labrador retrievers with information available, 15,427 (46.4%) were female and 15,252 (53.6%) were male. Females were more likely to be neutered than males (59.7% versus 54.8%, P <  0.001). The overall mean adult bodyweight was 33.0 kg (SD 6.1). Adult males were heavier (35.2 kg, SD 5.9 kg) than adult females (30.4 kg, SD 5.2 kg) (P <  0.001). The median longevity of Labrador retrievers overall was 12.0 years (IQR 9.9–13.8, range 0.0–16.0). The most common recorded colours were black (44.6%), yellow (27.8%) and liver/chocolate (reported from hereon as chocolate) (23.8%). The median longevity of non-chocolate coloured dogs (n = 139, 12.1 years, IQR 10.2–13.9, range 0.0–16.0) was longer than for chocolate coloured animals (n = 34, 10.7 years, IQR 9.0–12.4, range 3.8–15.5) (P = 0.028). Of a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) Labrador retrievers under care in 2013 that had full disorder data extracted, 1277 (61.6%) had at least one disorder recorded. The total number of dogs who died at any date during the study was 176. The most prevalent disorders recorded were otitis externa (n = 215, prevalence 10.4%, 95% CI: 9.1–11.8), overweight/obesity (183, 8.8%, 95% CI: 7.6–10.1) and degenerative joint disease (115, 5.5%, 95% CI: 4.6–6.6). Overweight/obesity was not statistically significantly associated with neutering in females (8.3% of entire versus 12.5% of neutered, P = 0.065) but was associated with neutering in males (4.1% of entire versus 11.4% of neutered, P < 0.001). The prevalence of otitis externa in black dogs was 12.8%, in yellow dogs it was 17.0% but, in chocolate dogs, it rose to 23.4% (P < 0.001). Similarly, the prevalence of pyo-traumatic dermatitis in black dogs was 1.1%, in yellow dogs it was 1.6% but in chocolate dogs it rose to 4.0% (P = 0.011). Conclusions The current study assists prioritisation of health issues within Labrador retrievers. The most common disorders were overweight/obesity, otitis externa and degenerative joint disease. Males were significantly heavier females. These results can alert prospective owners to potential health issues and inform breed-specific wellness checks

Eye movements during visual search in patients with glaucoma

Background: Glaucoma has been shown to lead to disability in many daily tasks including visual search. This study aims to determine whether the saccadic eye movements of people with glaucoma differ from those of people with normal vision, and to investigate the association between eye movements and impaired visual search. Methods: Forty patients (mean age: 67 [SD: 9] years) with a range of glaucomatous visual field (VF) defects in both eyes (mean best eye mean deviation [MD]: –5.9 (SD: 5.4) dB) and 40 age-related people with normal vision (mean age: 66 [SD: 10] years) were timed as they searched for a series of target objects in computer displayed photographs of real world scenes. Eye movements were simultaneously recorded using an eye tracker. Average number of saccades per second, average saccade amplitude and average search duration across trials were recorded. These response variables were compared with measurements of VF and contrast sensitivity. Results: The average rate of saccades made by the patient group was significantly smaller than the number made by controls during the visual search task (P = 0.02; mean reduction of 5.6% (95% CI: 0.1 to 10.4%). There was no difference in average saccade amplitude between the patients and the controls (P = 0.09). Average number of saccades was weakly correlated with aspects of visual function, with patients with worse contrast sensitivity (PR logCS; Spearman’s rho: 0.42; P = 0.006) and more severe VF defects (best eye MD; Spearman’s rho: 0.34; P = 0.037) tending to make less eye movements during the task. Average detection time in the search task was associated with the average rate of saccades in the patient group (Spearman’s rho = −0.65; P < 0.001) but this was not apparent in the controls. Conclusions: The average rate of saccades made during visual search by this group of patients was fewer than those made by people with normal vision of a similar average age. There was wide variability in saccade rate in the patients but there was an association between an increase in this measure and better performance in the search task. Assessment of eye movements in individuals with glaucoma might provide insight into the functional deficits of the disease

Identification and Characterization of MicroRNAs in Normal Equine Tissues by Next Generation Sequencing

The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as a post-transcriptional gene regulator has been elucidated in a broad range of organisms including domestic animals. Characterization of miRNAs in normal tissues is an important step to investigate the functions of miRNAs in various physiological and pathological conditions. Using Illumina Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology, we identified a total of 292 known and 329 novel miRNAs in normal horse tissues including skeletal muscle, colon and liver. Distinct sets of miRNAs were differentially expressed in a tissue-specific manner. The miRNA genes were distributed across all the chromosomes except chromosomes 29 and 31 in the horse reference genome. In some chromosomes, multiple miRNAs were clustered and considered to be polycistronic transcript. A base composition analysis showed that equine miRNAs had a higher frequency of A+U than G+C. Furthermore, U tended to be more frequent at the 59 end of miRNA sequences. This is the first experimental study that identifies and characterizes the global miRNA expression profile in normal horse tissues. The present study enriches the horse miRNA database and provides useful information for further research dissecting biological functions of miRNAs in horse.open2

Population genomics of cardiometabolic traits: design of the University College London-London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine-Edinburgh-Bristol (UCLEB) Consortium.

Substantial advances have been made in identifying common genetic variants influencing cardiometabolic traits and disease outcomes through genome wide association studies. Nevertheless, gaps in knowledge remain and new questions have arisen regarding the population relevance, mechanisms, and applications for healthcare. Using a new high-resolution custom single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array (Metabochip) incorporating dense coverage of genomic regions linked to cardiometabolic disease, the University College-London School-Edinburgh-Bristol (UCLEB) consortium of highly-phenotyped population-based prospective studies, aims to: (1) fine map functionally relevant SNPs; (2) precisely estimate individual absolute and population attributable risks based on individual SNPs and their combination; (3) investigate mechanisms leading to altered risk factor profiles and CVD events; and (4) use Mendelian randomisation to undertake studies of the causal role in CVD of a range of cardiovascular biomarkers to inform public health policy and help develop new preventative therapies

Use of whole-genome sequencing to identify clusters of Shigella flexneri associated with sexual transmission in men who have sex with men in England: a validation study using linked behavioural data.

Since the 1970s, shigellosis has been reported as a sexually transmissible infection, and in recent years, genomic data have revealed the breadth of Shigella spp. transmission among global networks of men who have sex with men (MSM). In 2015, Public Health England (PHE) introduced routine whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of Shigella spp. to identify transmission clusters. However, limited behavioural information for the cases hampers interpretation. We investigated whether WGS can distinguish between clusters representing sexual transmission in MSM and clusters representing community (non-sexual) transmission to inform infection control. WGS data for Shigella flexneri from August 2015 to July 2017 were aggregated into single linkage clusters based on SNP typing using a range of SNP distances (the standard for Shigella surveillance at PHE is 10 SNPs). Clusters were classified as 'adult male', 'household', 'travel-associated' or 'community' using routine demographic data submitted alongside laboratory cultures. From August 2015 to March 2017, PHE contacted those with shigellosis as part of routine public-health follow-up and collected exposure data on a structured questionnaire, which for the first time included questions about sexual identity and behaviour. The questionnaire data were used to determine whether clusters classified as 'adult male' represented likely sexual transmission between men, thereby validating the use of the SNP clustering tool for informing appropriate public-health responses. Overall, 1006?S. flexneri cases were reported, of which 563 clustered with at least one other case (10-SNP threshold). Linked questionnaire data were available for 106 clustered cases, of which 84.0?% belonged to an 'adult male' cluster. At the 10-SNP threshold, 95.1?% [95?% confidence interval (CI) 88.0-98.1%] of MSM belonged to an 'adult male' cluster, while 73.2?% (95?% CI 49.1-87.5%) of non-MSM belonged to a 'community' or 'travel-associated' cluster. At the 25-SNP threshold, all MSM (95?%?CI 96.0-100%) belonged to an 'adult male' cluster and 77.8?% (95?% CI 59.2-89.4%) of non-MSM belonged to a 'community' or 'travel-associated' cluster. Within one phylogenetic clade of S. flexneri, 9 clusters were identified (7 'adult male'; 2 'community') using a 10-SNP threshold, while a single 'adult male' cluster was identified using a 25-SNP threshold. Genotypic markers of azithromycin resistance were detected in 84.5?% (294/348) of 'adult male' cases and 20.9?% (9/43) of cases in other clusters (10-SNP threshold), the latter of which contained gay-identifying men who reported recent same-sex sexual contact. Our study suggests that SNP clustering can be used to identify Shigella clusters representing likely sexual transmission in MSM to inform infection control. Defining clusters requires a flexible approach in terms of genetic relatedness to ensure a clear understanding of underlying transmission networks

The CAP cancer protocols – a case study of caCORE based data standards implementation to integrate with the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid

BACKGROUND: The Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG™) is a network of individuals and institutions, creating a world wide web of cancer research. An important aspect of this informatics effort is the development of consistent practices for data standards development, using a multi-tier approach that facilitates semantic interoperability of systems. The semantic tiers include (1) information models, (2) common data elements, and (3) controlled terminologies and ontologies. The College of American Pathologists (CAP) cancer protocols and checklists are an important reporting standard in pathology, for which no complete electronic data standard is currently available. METHODS: In this manuscript, we provide a case study of Cancer Common Ontologic Representation Environment (caCORE) data standard implementation of the CAP cancer protocols and checklists model – an existing and complex paper based standard. We illustrate the basic principles, goals and methodology for developing caBIG™ models. RESULTS: Using this example, we describe the process required to develop the model, the technologies and data standards on which the process and models are based, and the results of the modeling effort. We address difficulties we encountered and modifications to caCORE that will address these problems. In addition, we describe four ongoing development projects that will use the emerging CAP data standards to achieve integration of tissue banking and laboratory information systems. CONCLUSION: The CAP cancer checklists can be used as the basis for an electronic data standard in pathology using the caBIG™ semantic modeling methodology