{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T02:12:43Z","timestamp":1776132763256,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,22]],"date-time":"2017-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1492819200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":21,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Record"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>We evaluated the efficacy of oral sildenafil citrate in dogs with congenital idiopathic megaoesophagus (CIM). Twenty\u2010one puppies were randomly assigned to two groups (treatment and control). The dogs were given sildenafil oral suspension 1 mg\/kg every 12 hours for 14\u00a0days or placebo in a masked fashion. Clinical signs (frequency of regurgitation and weight gain) and oesophagrams (relative oesophageal diameter, ROD) were evaluated in order to assess the efficacy of drug treatment, by examiners who were unaware of the study protocol. In addition, a set of in vitro experiments on isolated samples of canine lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) was performed, and the effects of increasing concentrations of sildenafil on basal tone and electrically\u2010stimulated motility were assessed. Sildenafil administration significantly reduced the number of regurgitation episodes (0.88\u00b11.40\u00a0v 2.65\u00b11.56, P&lt;0.0001) and significantly increased weight gain in the treated dogs compared to controls (79.76\u00b128.30 per cent v 53.40\u00b119.30 per cent, P=0.034). ROD values, at the end of the treatment period, were significantly decreased in the sildenafil group, compared to pre\u2010treatment values (0.97\u00b10.19\u00a0v 0.24\u00b10.14, P&lt;0.0001), in contrast to control subjects (0.98\u00b10.17\u00a0v 1.10\u00b10.25, P=0.480). In accordance with the in vivo findings, sildenafil dose\u2010dependently reduced basal tone and increased electrically\u2010induced relaxation of dog LOS samples. These results suggest that sildenafil citrate helps ameliorate clinical and radiographic signs in dogs with CIM by reducing LOS tone, and could represent a novel therapeutic tool for the treatment of this disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/vr.103832","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,2,10]],"date-time":"2017-02-10T20:51:03Z","timestamp":1486759863000},"page":"404-404","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Sildenafil improves clinical signs and radiographic features in dogs with congenital idiopathic megaoesophagus: a randomised controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"180","author":[{"given":"F.","family":"Quintavalla","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Science University of Parma Parma Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"A.","family":"Menozzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Science University of Parma Parma Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3898-6779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C.","family":"Pozzoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience University of Parma Parma Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"E.","family":"Poli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neuroscience University of Parma Parma Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"P.","family":"Donati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cerro Maggiore Milano Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"D. 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