title: Use of a flow-mediated vasodilation technique to assess endothelial function in dogs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and assess the reproducibility of a protocol to noninvasively test endothelial function in dogs on the basis of the flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) procedure used in humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  5 healthy spayed female dogs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Luminal arterial diameter and blood flow velocity in the brachial and femoral arteries were measured with ultrasonography. The within-dog reproducibility of these ultrasonographic measurements was tested. An occlusion period of 1, 3, or 5 minutes with an inflatable cuff was used to create the FMD response. Measurements made at 15, 30, and 60 seconds following release of the occlusion were compared with measurements made immediately prior to each occlusion to assess the FMD response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within-dog reproducibility of measurements revealed moderate to high correlations. Change from baseline in luminal arterial diameter was most substantial when measured at 30 seconds following release of occlusion, whereas blood flow velocity changes were maximal when measured at 15 seconds following release. The brachial imaging site provided a larger number of significant FMD responses than the femoral site. The 3-minute occlusion period provided equal or better responses than the 5-minute occlusion period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasonographic measurement of the FMD responses was a feasible and reproducible technique and significant changes from baseline were detected. The FMD responses in dogs were most substantial when performed at the brachial artery with blood flow velocity and luminal arterial diameter changes from baseline measured at 15 and 30 seconds, respectively, following release of a 3-minute occlusion period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
authors.forename: Gary D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Puglia
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.forename: Ryan G P
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Sybil L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Crawford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology / Q000662:veterinary; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D004285:Dogs / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed / Q000662:veterinary; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology*