Mycobacteriosis in gang gang cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

This report presents three cases of mycobacteriosis in gang gang cockatoos (Callocephalon fimbriatum) that highlight the potential variation in clinical presentation of this important avian disease. The first case was a female gang gang cockatoo with widespread skeletal disease that presented with a chronic history of weight loss and nonpainful, bilaterally symmetric, distal-wing and leg nodular swellings. The second case was a mature female in good muscle condition with a nodular granulomatous pericarditis and myocarditis causing severe hydropericardium and cardiac tamponade; it was presented for respiratory distress. The third case was one of alimentary mycobacteriosis that presented with a chronic history of weight loss. Some difficulties associated with confirming a premortem diagnosis of mycobacteriosis are discussed.     

Pulmonary dysfunction and skeletal muscle changes in horses with RAO

BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary diseases (recurrent airway obstruction [RAO]) have been reported to alter skeletal muscle cells in humans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a potential relationship between pulmonary and muscle variables in horses with a clinical diagnosis of RAO. Muscle biopsies from healthy horses and from horses with RAO were investigated and the relationship between the severity of lung disease and the degree of muscular changes was determined. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that chronic pulmonary disease can lead to changes of the skeletal muscle in horses. ANIMALS: Fifteen healthy horses (control) and 50 horses with RAO were examined. METHODS: In a prospective clinical trial, a complete lung examination was performed in all horses. In all horses, muscle enzyme activity at rest and after exercise and muscle biopsies from the M. gluteus medius were examined. RESULTS: None of the horses had clinical or histologic signs of primary or neurogenic myopathies. According to the clinical, endoscopic, and radiographic findings and with a scoring system, the horses with RAO were grouped according to the severity of pulmonary findings (15 horses mild, 24 horses moderate, 11 horses severe RAO). Pathologic changes of the skeletal muscle (fiber atrophy or fiber hypertrophy, myofibrillar degeneration, hyperplasia of mitochondria, and ragged-red-like fibers) were identified in most horses with RAO but in only a few individual control horses. In addition, a marked depletion of muscle glycogen storage was evident in the RAO horses but not in the control group. Other pathologic changes of skeletal muscle such as centralized nuclei and regenerating fibers were rare, but were more frequent in horses with lung diseases than in the control group. The degree of muscle cell changes was also graded with a scoring system and correlated with the severity of pulmonary disease (r= 0.55). CONCLUSION: Chronic pulmonary disease in horses is associated with structural changes in skeletal muscle. CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Because chronic pulmonary disease may affect muscles, early and effective therapy may prevent these changes. This finding could be of clinical importance but requires further studies.     

Lymphoma(s) showing epitheliotropism and diffuse skeletal muscle involvement presenting as a polymyopathy in a young dog

A 3-year-old dog presented with a severe polymyopathy and subsequently developed nodular skin lesions. The disease in this dog was caused by lymphoma, showing cutaneous epitheliotropism as well as infiltration of skeletal muscle in conjunction with polymyositis.     

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis with prominent appendicular bone proliferation in a dog

This report described radiographic and CT features of atypical diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in a 5 year-old, female Shih-tzu showing marked proliferative bone lesions in the appendicular skeleton with minor spinal changes. Continuous or flowing bony bridge formation of vertebrae is used as the gold standard for diagnosing diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis. However, this criterion seems not to be suitable for appendicular type diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, as in the present case. Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis is a progressive skeletal disease, and thus, enthesophytosis and the multiple bony proliferations at insertion sites of ligaments and tendons to appendicular bones in a lamellar or trabecular pattern were considered diagnostic features of the appendicular type of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.     

维生素E缺乏对鲤骨骼肌损伤的影响

本文旨在探讨VE缺乏对鲤骨骼肌损伤的形态学影响。在半纯合日粮中分别添加0、25、50和100 mg/kg的VE,投喂体重约60 g的鲤鱼20周。结果表明:鲤鱼摄入VE缺乏的饲料后,出现“瘦背症”、脊柱弯曲及以突眼、竖鳞和腹水为特征的渗出性素质样病变。病理剖解见体壁肌肉萎缩,特别是背部两侧肌肉萎缩变薄,其厚度仅为对照组的1/4~1/2,似刀刃状;体侧红肌纤维褪色变白,呈白肌肉外观。组织学变化主要表现为肌营养性不良,骨骼肌变性、坏死,淋巴细胞和单核细胞浸润,大量结缔组织增生,残存的肌纤维萎缩变细。超微结构上表现为骨骼肌细胞核膜间隙增宽,呈锯齿状,并发生局部或广泛性的断裂,核变形,电子密度降低;肌浆内糖原颗粒明显减少,线粒体肿胀,嵴断裂,甚至溶解呈空囊泡状,肌原纤维的横纹模糊不清或完全消失。结论:日粮中0、25和50 mg/kgVE水平会导致鲤出现VE缺乏症,其骨骼肌主要表现为变性、坏死、肌萎缩和炎症细胞浸润的肌营养性不良。     

The metabolic profile test: its practicability in assessing feeding management and periparturient diseases in high yielding commercial dairy herds

The aim of this study was to evaluate the practicability of using the metabolic profile test (MPT) as a preventive tool for periparturient disease of dairy cows. The MPT was assessed in 79 dairy herds with high incidence of periparturient disease and 76 healthy herds of cows producing more than 8,500 kg 305-day milk yield. The changes in metabolic profiles were also assessed in 17 dairy herds at two times, the first at high incidence of periparturient disease and the second after reduced incidence and improved feeding management. In the herds with high incidence of periparturient disease, low blood values of hematocrit, albumin, glucose, cholesterol, calcium and magnesium were observed in the dry period. These values correctly diagnosed malnutrition as the cause of periparturient diseases. Following feeding management changes, there was a low incidence of periparturient disease and the metabolic profiles were normal showing that feeding management had improved. We concluded that the MPT is a useful tool for assessing feeding management and periparturient diseases of dairy cows.     

Update on the biology and management of canine osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is the most common primary bone tumor diagnosed in dogs. Our understanding of the risk factors and genetic changes in canine OSA patients is growing, but specific, innovative therapeutic strategies are slow in coming. Appendicular skeletal osteosarcoma, the most frequent form of this disease, is typically seen in large to giant breeds, with males being overrepresented in most reports. Axial skeletal OSA is less common than appendicular OSA, but the biologic behavior of the disease is equally aggressive in all skeletal sites except for the mandible. Though the current standard of care for dogs with osteosarcoma remains surgical resection of the affected site, followed by chemotherapy with either a platinum- (cisplatin or carboplatin) or doxorubicin-based protocol, novel therapies are being actively investigated.     

Clinical, diagnostic and biochemical features of generalised glycogenosis type II in Brahman cattle

SUMMARY Clinical, diagnostic and biochemical features of generalised glycogenosis are described In 96 Brahman-type calves. Typically the calves were presented when about 6 months of age, with III-thrift and muscular weakness as the most common signs. Acidic α-glucosidase activity was reduced in peripheral blood lymphocytes and skeletal muscle. Muscle glycogen concentration was consistently higher in affected animals than In clinically normal cattle. Other observations in affected calves Included elevation of serum aspartate amlnotransferase and creatine kinase activities and excessive amounts of high molecular weight oligosaccharides in urine. Fine cytoplasmic vacuolation of neurones In the brain and spinal cord, skeletal muscle, myocardlum and of Purkinje fibres were consistent histological observations. Periodic acid-Schlff staining revealed the presence of glycogen-like material In peripheral blood lymphocytes of all affected calves, Indicating that this is a useful aid for the diagnosis of glycogenosis. While 3 of the 96 calves showed somewhat different clinical signs, the similarity of pathology and the biochemical and clinical evidence in the remainder suggested that, In these animals, the disease was expressed as a single syndrome.     

海南黑山羊CAST基因的时空表达分析

采用SYBR Green实时荧光定量PCR技术检测了CAST基因在1、2、3、4月龄和12月龄海南黑山羊骨骼肌、心肌、肝脏和脂肪组织中mRNA表达差异和发育规律,为揭示CAST基因的生物学功能及其对肉质的表达调控机理提供参考依据.结果表明,CAST基因在未成年羊的骨骼肌中mRNA表达量极显著高于其他组织（P＜0.01）,且在2月龄时达到最高水平;成年后在心肌、肝脏和脂肪中的表达量极显著升高（P＜0.01）,在骨骼肌中的表达量次之,但在脂肪中的表达量始终相对较低;该基因在3、4月龄各组织中的mRNA表达量相对较低,且四种组织在3、4月龄间表达差异不显著（P＞0.05）.     

Chronic orthopaedic disease in adult male broiler breeding fowls

An assessment has been made of spontaneous orthopaedic disease in 100 male broiler breeding fowls aged between 51 and 62 weeks. Lesions were identified in the pelvic limbs of 92 birds, 85 of which showed total or partial rupture of ligaments or tendons. Total ligament or tendon failure was identified at one or more skeletal sites in 54 birds. In two cases, avulsion of the femoral origin of the cranial tibial muscle had occurred. Other findings included degenerative changes in a number of joints but there was no correlation with ligament derangement. Partial or total detachment of the femoral head occurred in 16 birds. The primary lesion was disturbed endochondral ossification and, once detached, the femoral head normally became necrotic. In the reparative phase, 'creeping substitution' was identified.     

Serum enzyme changes in lambs with experimentally induced acute muscular dystrophy

An experiment was performed to study some serum enzyme changes taking place in artificially fed lambs made dystrophic on a skim milk ration supplemented with α-tocopherolextracted cod liver oil. In the course of two to three weeks the lambs showed highly increased serum values of aspartate- and alanine aminotransferase (AspAT = GOT and A1AT = GPT), total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine phosphokinase (GPK). The latter enzyme proved to be the most sensitive test of myopathies, with serum values above 1000 times the normal level. A high-grade hyaline skeletal muscle degeneration was confirmed by histology. Myocardial changes were also present.Contrary to expectations, electrophoretic separation of LDH isoenzymes in the serum of the dystrophic lambs did not reflect any increase of the prevalent muscular cathodic thermolabile fraction LDH₅. The use of a so-called LDH heat stability test as an aid in clinical diagnostic work, as previously suggested, therefore does not seem to be valid in this disease. The results are discussed.     

Comparison of Staphylococcus aureus recovered from personnel in a poultry hatchery and in broiler parent farms with those isolated from skeletal disease in broilers.

Personnel from one broiler hatchery, and workers on 18 separate broiler parent farms which supply the hatchery, were tested for hand and nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus. In both locations, nasal carriage of S. aureus was more common than hand carriage. A total of 63 S. aureus strains were characterised by biotyping, protein A analysis and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. Of these, 36 were recovered from broiler hatchery personnel, 14 from broiler parent farm personnel and 13 from cases of skeletal disease in commercial broilers. Biotyping and protein A analysis indicated that none of the strains recovered from hatchery personnel were of the poultry biotype, but that two strains recovered from the hands of two broiler parent farm personnel could be grouped together with 12/13 of strains recovered from skeletal disease in broilers, as poultry biotypes. PFGE-typing could not distinguish 9/13 strains recovered from skeletal disease in broilers and one of the strains from the broiler parent farm personnel from isolate 24 (I. 24), which is the predominant S. aureus strain type associated with clinical disease in N. Ireland broiler flocks. The present study found no evidence of nasal carriage of S. aureus strains of poultry biotype by humans. The finding of hand carriage by broiler parent farm personnel, suggests that handling by personnel may contribute to the dissemination of I. 24 or other S. aureus strains associated with skeletal disease in broilers.     

Experimental myopathy in vitamin E- and selenium-depleted calves with and without added dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids as a model for nutritional degenerative myopathy in ruminant cattle

Fourteen calves, 14 weeks old, fed a low vitamin E and selenium diet based on sodium hydroxide-treated, selenium-deficient barley showed a rapid decline in plasma alpha-tocopherol, a gradual decline in erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSHPX) activity, elevated plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity, teeth grinding and (in three cases) electrocardiographic changes, but no clinical abnormalities after 127 to 137 days. Necropsy of six depleted calves at that stage revealed pale muscles in two animals and mild histopathological lesions of skeletal myopathy in all six calves. Ten control calves were fed a similar diet supplemented with alpha-tocopherol and selenium. Plasma alpha-tocopherol and erythrocyte GSHPX activity remained high in these calves and no clinical abnormalities or evidence of myodegeneration were observed. When protected linseed oil was fed as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids to the remaining eight depleted calves, rapid elevations in plasma CK activity and linolenic acid associated with a variety of cardiopulmonary and locomotory signs, electrocardiographic changes and myoglobinuria occurred within six to 11 days. Necropsy revealed widespread severe skeletal myodegeneration (eight calves) and myocardial lesions (five calves) with preferential involvement of the left ventricular myocardium. Clinical signs and pathological changes were similar to those reported in field outbreaks of nutritional degenerative myopathy in ruminant cattle and establish the experimental regime as the first successful model for reproduction of this disease.     

Comparative pathological studies on domestic geese (Anser anser domestica) and Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) experimentally infected with parvovirus strains of goose and Muscovy duck origin

Parvovirus infection of Muscovy ducks caused by a genetically and antigenically distinct virus has been reported from Germany, France, Israel, Hungary, some Asian countries and the USA. The pathological changes include those of degenerative skeletal muscle myopathy and myocarditis, hepatitis, sciatic neuritis and polioencephalomyelitis. In the study presented here, day-old and 3-week-old goslings and Muscovy ducks were infected experimentally with three different parvovirus strains (isolates of D-216/4 from the classical form of Derzsy's disease, D-190/3 from the enteric form of Derzsy's disease, and strain FM from the parvovirus disease of Muscovy ducks). All three parvovirus strains caused severe disease in both day-old and 3-week-old Muscovy ducks but in the goslings only the two strains of goose origin (D-216/4 and D-190/3) caused disease with high (90-100%) mortality when infection was performed at day old. Strain FM (of Muscovy duck origin) did not cause any clinical signs or pathological lesions in the goslings. In the day-old goslings and Muscovy ducks the principal pathological lesions were severe enteritis with necrosis of the epithelial cells (enterocytes) of the mucous membrane and the crypts of Lieberkühn, and the formation of intranuclear inclusion bodies. Other prominent lesions included hepatitis and atrophy (lymphocyte depletion) of the lymphoid organs (bursa of Fabricius, thymus, spleen). In goslings infected with the strain originating from the classical form of Derzsy's disease mild myocarditis was also detected. After infection at three weeks of age, growth retardation, feathering disorders, myocardial lesions (degeneration of cardiac muscle cells, lympho-histiocytic infiltration) and hepatitis were the most prominent lesions in both geese and Muscovy ducks. In addition to the lesions observed in the geese, muscle fibre degeneration, mild sciatic neuritis and polioencephalomyelitis were also observed in the Muscovy ducks infected with any of the three parvovirus strains.     

Origin of the equine middle latency auditory evoked potential

Recordings of the middle latency of the auditory evoked potential (MLAEP) were made in eight conscious ponies. These traces were compared to those made under halothane anaesthesia with and without paralysis of the skeletal muscles. Recordings were also made from percutaneous electrodes placed along the neck with the same stimulus used for the auditory evoked potentials. The results of these experiments were used to deduce the origin of latencies in the auditory evoked potential occurring between 10 and 25 ms after the stimulus. The MLAEP was found to contain two positive peaks between the latencies of 10 and 25 ms. The first of these two peaks was not abolished by halothane anaesthesia or muscle paralysis. The second of these two peaks was abolished by halothane anaesthesia in all but one animal. In this animal the second peak was abolished by muscle paralysis. No peaks of corresponding latency were recorded from the percutaneous electrodes except from one electrode position at the caudal neck in one pony. The first peak of the middle latency auditory evoked potential seen in conscious ponies appeared to be of central nervous orign. The second peak appeared to be of muscular origin, possibly from the external auditory muscles. The second peak may be analogous to the post-auricular waveform described in man.     

Pathological changes and organochlorine residues in tissues of wild otters (Lutra lutra)

In 1984 two adult, wild otters (Lutra lutra) from north Norfolk were subjected to full post mortem examinations. One was found dead and the other sick. Both were thin. No evidence of infectious disease was found, but there were organochlorine concentrations of 433 and 75 mg/kg of fat (69 per cent polychlorinated biphenyls in both) in skeletal muscle. Leiomyoma of the reproductive tract and adrenocortical hyperplasia in one otter were similar to age associated changes in other mammals. Integumentary, including pedal, lesions were present in both otters. The possibility that the pedal lesions were caused by the toxic effects of polychlorinated biphenyls is discussed.     

Effect of skeletal muscle decorin on collagen fibrillogenesis in vitro

The effect of skeletal muscle decorin on collagen fibrillogenesis was investigated, in order to provide background for understanding the functions of decorin in skeletal muscle. The self‐assembly of type I and III collagen with the addition of decorin or the core protein of decorin from bovine neonatal skeletal muscle was monitored using a spectrophotmeter. Time course changes in the absorbance of collagen solutions showed typical sigmoidal curves composed of three phases. The time of the initial phase was not different between the collagen solution with decorin and that without decorin. The increase rate of the absorbance in the second phase decreased with concentration of decorin added in collagen solutions. Similar effects on fibrillogenesis of type I and III collagens were observed when the core protein of decorin was added in collagen solutions. These results suggest that regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis by decorin depends on its core protein. The networks of reconstructed collagen fibrils with decorin were looser than those without decorin. Bovine skeletal muscle decorin could participate in the regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis and in the arrangement of collagen fibrils in the intramuscular connective tissue.     

Antebrachial deformities in the dog: Treatment with external fixation

The results of 12 dogs with antebrachial deformity treated by ulnar ostectomy, radial osteotomy and external skeletal fixation are presented. Postoperative complications were seen in only one dog; a delayed union requiring placement of autogenous cancellous bone graft at a second surgery to achieve healing. Postoperatively, owners reported limb function was good in almost all cases, although they were less pleased with the cosmetic appearance.     

Two Unusual Cases of Canine Prostatitis: Prostatitis in a Castrated Dog and Preputial Oedema in an Intact Male

In this study, two unusual presentations of canine prostatitis are described; in the first case a 10‐years‐old neutered Boxer dog was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Extremadura with a complaint of anorexia, apathy and preputial discharge. In the second case, a local veterinarian referred an 8‐years‐old male Labrador to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Extremadura. The dog had a history of pain in the caudal abdomen and preputial oedema. The final diagnosis in both cases was acute prostatitis. It is concluded that although canine prostatitis is a common disease, sometimes can have presentations that may differ from those classically described in the literature.