USE OF 123IODINE METAIODOBENZYLGUANIDINE SCINTIGRAPHY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF A PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA IN A DOG

A 13-year-old neutered female Yorkshire terrier presented with a history of progressive episodic weakness and disorientation of 4 months duration. Physical and neurologic examinations were normal at presentation. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a mass involving the right adrenal gland. Standard planar scintigraphy was performed at 4, 18, and 24 hours after intravenous injection 185 MBq (5mCi) of ¹²³I-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹²³I-MIBG). An area of focal intense uptake was identified in the area of the right adrenal gland. A pheochromocytoma was confirmed histologically after surgical excision.     

Management of femoral artery thrombosis in an immature dog

Objective: To report a case of femoral artery thrombosis and its medical management in a young dog. Case summary: A 13‐week‐old, female Boxer puppy presented with hind limb paralysis after an abdominal crush injury. A left femoral artery thrombus was identified on ultrasound. No spinal trauma was visualized in imaging studies. Clinical management of arterial thrombosis in a 13‐week‐old puppy with streptokinase and dalteparin therapy is described. New or unique information provided: This paper describes an unusual presentation of arterial thrombosis. The medical management with streptokinase and dalteparin is also out of the ordinary. Images that document the development of compensatory circulation around the thrombosed vessel are included. Additionally, this paper also documents the altered development that occurred in this immature dog after the thrombotic event.     

Diagnosis of trichomoniasis in 'virgin' bulls by culture and polymerase chain reaction

The diagnostic test for Tritrichomonas foetus in bulls is microscopic examination of cultured preputial samples. Trichomonads other than T. foetus can be present in a preputial sample. Both a staining technique and a polymerase chain reaction assay were useful in differentiating between T. foetus and another trichomonad observed in samples from virgin bulls.     

Isolated canine and murine intestinal cells exhibit a different pattern of fuel utilization for oxidative metabolism

The amount and type of dietary fiber influences the end-products of fermentation and thus fuel availability to intestinal tissue. Metabolic fuel usage was studied in intestinal cells isolated from dogs consuming a commercial diet or from rats consuming either a commercial rat diet or dog diet to examine preferential fuel usage, the effect of diet, and species differences. Production of 14CO2 was measured by incubating cells in media containing either D-[U-14C]glucose, [1-14C]n-butyrate, L-[U-14C]glutamine, or [1-14C]propionate with or without competing substrates. The presence of a mixture of 5 mM each of glucose, butyrate, propionate, and acetate and 1 mM glutamine in the media decreased CO2 production from glucose, glutamine, and propionate by canine enterocytes (P < 0.05) and from glutamine and propionate by canine colonocytes (P < 0.05). The presence of glutamine in the media decreased glucose oxidation by murine enterocytes, regardless of the diet. Similarly, glutamine decreased glucose oxidation by murine colonocytes (P < 0.05), but only when the rats had consumed the rat diet. Regardless of diet, murine colonocytes oxidized more butyrate (P < 0.01) than did enterocytes, and murine enterocytes tended (P < 0.07) to oxidize more glucose than did colonocytes. The proportion of propionate in colonic contents was higher in dogs than in rats (P < 0.02), and the proportion of butyrate tended to be higher in contents from rats than in those from dogs (P < 0.08). Colonic and cecal wet weights were decreased (P < 0.05) when rats were fed the commercial dog diet. Preferred utilization of substrates by isolated canine enterocytes and colonocytes differed from that of murine intestinal cells. These differences were only partially overcome by feeding the same diet to each species.     

Cloning,expression, purification,and biological activity of five feline type I interferons

Type I interferons (IFN) are important mediators of the host defense against viral infections in mammals. In humans multiple subtypes of IFN-alpha exist, most of which possess antiviral activity. Little is known about the type I IFN genes in cats and the role they may play in feline immunological responses to viruses. We have isolated cDNAs encoding five feline IFN-alpha (feIFN) subtypes that share from 95 to 99% amino acid sequence identity. FeIFN-alpha5 has five additional amino acids inserted at position 139, which are not present in the other four subtypes. Sequence identity of the feIFN proteins encoded by the five clones compared to human IFN-alpha2 is approximately 60%. Unlike most of the human subtypes, each of the five feline IFN sequences has an N-glycosylation recognition site. Expression of all five feIFN-alpha subtypes in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was confirmed by Western blot analysis, and all resulting proteins were glycosylated. The antiviral activity of each feIFN-alpha subtype produced in transiently transfected CHO cell cultures was tested in vitro. In addition, subtype feIFN-alpha6 was expressed in the yeast, Pichia pastoris. The resulting secreted mature recombinant protein was purified and demonstrated significant antiviral activity and induction of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase activity in vitro.     

Effect of perioperative oral carprofen on postoperative pain in dogs undergoing surgery for stabilization of ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments

A randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of oral carprofen for the control of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing knee surgery for stabilization of ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. Dogs were randomly assigned to treatment with carprofen (n = 10) or placebo (n = 9). Pain was assessed at 1, 2, 4, 6, 24, and 48 hours and 10 and 21 days postoperatively. Eight of 10 dogs treated with carprofen and five of nine dogs treated with placebo were given at least one dose of morphine as rescue therapy. The mean relative dose of morphine given at 1 hour (P =.01) and 24 hours (P =.02) after surgery was greater for dogs treated with carprofen than for dogs given a placebo. There were no significant postoperative differences in cortisol levels or any measured variable. It appears that the scoring system used was not sensitive enough to detect differences in pain between a known analgesic and a placebo.