Copper-associated hepatitis in a Pembroke Welsh corgi

A 6-year-old spayed female Pembroke Welsh corgi dog was diagnosed with copper-associated hepatitis; an uncommon disease to which a variety of breeds are predisposed. This case report describes copper-associated hepatitis in a breed in which the disease has not previously been reported.     

Juvenile nephropathy in two related Pembroke Welsh corgi puppies

Juvenile nephropathy has been documented in many breeds. Two related Pembroke Welsh corgi puppies presented at three and five months of age, respectively, for evaluation of lethargy, diarrhoea, poor body condition, polyuria and proteinuria. Based upon the clinical presentation, urinalysis and serum biochemistry, chronic renal failure was diagnosed. Renal histopathology was consistent with juvenile nephropathy, revealing lesions similar to the juvenile renal disease of dobermann dogs. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of juvenile nephropathy in related Pembroke Welsh corgi dogs. Familial nephropathy should now be considered as a differential diagnosis in cases of young Pembroke Welsh corgi dogs presenting with clinical signs indicating renal failure.     

A study of inherited short tail and taillessness in Pembroke Welsh corgi

OBJECTIVES: To study whether natural short tail in adult Pembroke Welsh corgi is associated with congenital spinal defects. To report anatomical defects in two newborn tailless puppies from short-tailed parents, and to check whether they were homozygous for the dominant mutation in the T-gene (C295G). METHODS: The vertebral column of 19 adult dogs with natural short tail, from short-tail x long-tail crossings, was radiographically examined. Two tailless puppies were radiographed and submitted for necropsy. Samples from the puppies, their parents and five siblings were analysed for the mutation of the T-gene. RESULTS: No congenital spinal defects were diagnosed in any of the short-tailed dogs. The tailless puppies had anorectal atresia, had multiple spinal defects and were homozygous for the mutation in the T-gene. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: As tail docking is forbidden in many countries, breeding Pembroke Welsh corgis with natural short tail is becoming increasingly common. Previous studies indicated that the mutation in homozygotes is lethal in early fetal life. It is of clinical significance that natural short tail is probably not associated with congenital spinal defects, as is known from studies of other species, and that homozygotes for this mutation with serious anatomical defects may be born.     

Plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy in a cat with non‐restrictive ventricular septal defect and chronic pulmonary hypertension

A 10‐week‐old, male, domestic long‐hair cat was medically managed for congenital heart disease over a period of 8 years. Regular clinical examinations, including sequential echocardiography, documented a non‐restrictive paramembranous ventricular septal defect, secundum‐type atrial septal defect and aortic dextroposition. Pulmonary arterial hypertension was diagnosed by the presence of high‐velocity tricuspid regurgitation, bidirectional low velocity flow across the ventricular septal defect, pulmonary arterial dilation and severe right ventricular hypertrophy without evidence of pulmonary outflow tract obstruction. The cat remained clinically stable until it died suddenly at 8 years of age. Histopathology of the lungs found evidence of plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy. Despite severe pulmonary vascular lesions, other post‐mortem evidence of right heart failure was lacking and death was attributed to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia. In this case report of a cat with chronic pulmonary hypertension over 8 years, plexogenic lesions were found on histopathology. The microscopic findings resemble those previously reported in dogs.     

Clinical characterization of a familial degenerative myelopathy in Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs

BACKGROUND: Adult dogs with degenerative myelopathy (DM) have progressive ataxia and paresis of the pelvic limbs, leading to paraplegia and euthanasia. Although most commonly reported in German Shepherd dogs, high disease prevalence exists in other breeds. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was the clinical and histopathologic characterization of familial degenerative myelopathy (FDM) in Pembroke Welsh Corgi (PWC) dogs. ANIMALS: Twenty-one PWCs were prospectively studied from initial diagnosis until euthanasia. METHODS: Neurologic examination, blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, electrodiagnostic testing, and spinal imaging were performed. Concentrations of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-isoprostane) were measured in CSF. Routine histochemistry was used for neuropathology. Deoxyribonucleic acid and pedigrees were collected from 110 dogs. RESULTS: Median duration of clinical signs before euthanasia was 19 months. Median age at euthanasia was 13 years. All dogs were nonambulatory paraparetic or paraplegic, and 15 dogs had thoracic limb weakness at euthanasia. Electrodiagnostic testing and spinal imaging were consistent with noncompressive myelopathy. No significant difference was detected in 8-isoprostane concentrations between normal and FDM-affected dogs. Axonal and myelin degeneration of the spinal cord was most severe in the dorsal portion of the lateral funiculus. Pedigree analysis suggested a familial disease. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Clinical progression of FDM in PWC dogs was similar to that observed in other breeds but characterized by a longer duration. Spinal cord pathology predominates as noninflammatory axonal degeneration. Oxidative stress injury associated with 8-isoprostane production is not involved in the pathogenesis of FDM-affected PWC dogs. A familial disease is suspected.     

Immunohistochemical observation of canine degenerative myelopathy in two Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs

Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess whether oxidative stress and/or denatured proteins play roles in the pathogenesis of canine degenerative myelopathy (DM). Two Pembroke Welsh Corgi (PWC) dogs with a homozygous mutation (c.118G>A) in the canine superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene were examined. The pathological features of the dogs were consistent with those of previous cases of DM in PWC. In the spinal lesions, diffuse SOD1 expression was observed in the neurons while no inclusion-like aggregates had formed, which disagreed with the findings of a previous study. A unique inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) staining pattern in reactive astrocytes and a significant increase in ubiquitin immunoreactivity in the spinal lesions were also observed. These findings indicate the involvement of oxidative stress and the accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins in the pathogenesis of canine DM, whereas the role of SOD1 remains unclear.     

Localized pulmonary histiocytic sarcomas in Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Nineteen cases of histiocytic sarcomas in Pembroke Welsh Corgi were examined histopathologically. Focal or multiple masses were detected in the lung or in regional lymph nodes, or in both lung and nodes. All neoplastic lesions had common histological features characterized by the proliferation of pleomorphic histiocytic cells combined with various inflammatory cells. Most of the pleomorphic neoplastic cells were immunopositive for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR and Iba-1. The median survival time for all dogs was 133 days. In the present study, several prognostic factors, such as gender, age, single or multiple lesions, lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis, surgical resection status and additional chemotherapy, were examined, although none of these factors approached statistical significance. Histiocytic sarcoma must be considered in the differential diagnosis of dogs with pulmonary masses, especially in the canine breed.     

Diffusion tensor imaging-based quantitative analysis of the spinal cord in Pembroke Welsh Corgis with degenerative myelopathy

Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the spinal cord. The diagnosis is based on the observation of clinical signs, genetic testing, and exclusion of other spinal cord diseases, and a definitive diagnosis of DM can only be confirmed by postmortem histopathological findings. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic ability of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for DM. Eight DM-affected Pembroke Welsh Corgis, thirteen dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation (IVDH), and six healthy control dogs were included. All dogs were scanned using a 3.0-T MRI system. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were calculated for each intervertebral disk level slice between T8–T9 and L2–L3 intervertebral disk levels, and the entire area of the thoracolumbar spinal cord between T8–T9 and L2–L3 intervertebral disk levels (T8–L3 region). The ADC and FA values of the T8–L3 region were significantly lower in the DM group than in the IVDH group. The ADC values for the T8–L3 region had a moderate negative correlation with clinical duration (r_s= −0.723, P=0.043); however, the FA values of other intervertebral disk levels and T8–L3 region had no correlation with clinical durations. The measurement of DTI indices can be used to quantitatively assess neurodegeneration and may have diagnostic value for DM. In particular, the ADC value of the T8–L3 region may aid in making a non-invasive premortem diagnosis of DM.     

Pulmonary arteriopathy and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension in six dogs

Pulmonary arteriopathy (PA) is the pathologic hallmark in human medicine of diffuse constrictive (medial and intimal remodeling) or multifocal complex (plexiform and dilatative lesions) arterial lesions, or both, that lead to irreversible obliteration of the arterial lumen. Clinically, PA leads to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), of which idiopathic (IPAH) is one of the 5 subsets, and ultimately, to right-sided heart failure (RHF). Clinical and pathologic findings from 6 dogs with diagnosis of IPAH and PA were reviewed. These dogs were of various pure (5/6, 83%) and mixed (1/6, 17%) breeding, 5 months to 9 years (mean 5.2 years) old, and predominantly female (4/6, 67%) and reproductively intact (4/6, 67%). Doppler echocardiography (n = 5) indicated increased pulmonary arterial pressures during systole (70-135 mm Hg, mean 98 mm Hg) and diastole (35-80 mm Hg, mean 58 mm Hg). All 6 dogs had right ventricular pressure overload, right ventricular eccentric hypertrophy, and RHF. Histologic examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of IPAH in all dogs, revealing PA characterized by 1 of the 4 main human histologic subsets: 1) isolated medial hypertrophy (1/6, 17%); 2) medial hypertrophy-intimal thickening without the plexiform lesion (1/6, 17%); 3) medial hypertrophy-intimal thickening concurrent with the plexiform lesion, which often was regionally clustered and situated near branching points of the respiratory artery, the poststenotic dilatation lesion, and vasculitis (4/6, 66%); and 4) isolated arteritis (1/6, 17%). Ancillary lesions similar to those in humans also complicated the PA (5/6, 83%). The complex lesions and ancillary exudative alveolitis seemed to be important indicators of severe, likely rapidly progressive and fatal, IPAH.     

Extensive Dystrophic Pulmonary Calcification in a Welsh Pony Mare

A 12-year-old Welsh pony mare was presented to the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital for signs of intermittent lethargy and increased abdominal breathing effort of 6 months duration. After physical examination, blood work, bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and diagnostic imaging of the thorax and attempted lung biopsy, pulmonary mineralization of unknown origin was suspected. The pony was treated palliative for 7 months with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and inhaled corticosteroids to treat accompanying airway inflammation before being euthanized because of poor prognosis and deterioration of clinical signs. On postmortem examination, the pulmonary architecture of the right and left cranioventral lung lobes, accessory lobe, and cranial potions of the left caudal lung lobe was replaced by hard mineralized tissue. No other organs other than a mediastinal lymph node and the lung were affected by mineralization. After decalcification, thick sheets of fibrous connective tissue organized into layers and lamellae replaced the normal architecture of the pulmonary parenchyma in more than 90% of the lung lobe examined on histopathology. The findings were consistent with generalized severe pulmonary fibrosis and dystrophic calcification.     

Mammary botryomycosis and hemimastectomy in a post-partum Welsh Pony mare

Botryomycosis is a chronic pyogranulomatous disease characterised by the formation of multiple abscesses containing bacteria surrounded by eosinophilic material which protect them from antibiotics and phagocytosis. Mammary gland botryomycosis is a rare but aggressive disorder that can jeopardise the ability of a mare to nurture a foal. Our report describes a case of unilateral botryomycosis mastitis in a Welsh Pony mare, treated by hemimastectomy. The mare was able to successfully carry and nurse foals post-surgery.     

Idiopathic osseous hyperplasia of the nasal turbinates in a Welsh terrier

A three-year-old Welsh terrier was presented with a 6-month history of progressive stertor, exercise intolerance and sneezing which was unresponsive to symptomatic treatment. A large calcified mass occupying the entire rostral right nasal cavity was defined with computed tomography. The mass was completely removed via a dorsal rhinotomy. Histopathological examination of the mass revealed osseous hyperplasia of the nasal turbinates. The excision led to complete resolution of clinical signs and there has been no recurrence 18 months after surgery.     

Fourth branchial arch defect in a Welsh section A pony mare

Fourth branchial arch defect is a term used to describe a syndrome of congenital defects affecting the extrinsic structures of the larynx, due to a failure of development of structures that derive from the fourth branchial arch. This Case Report describes a 6-year-old Welsh section A mare presented for investigation of a chronic cough that was exacerbated on exercise. A fourth branchial arch defect was identified on resting upper airway endoscopy, with dorsal pharyngeal collapse evident on dynamic respiratory endoscopy, although full abduction of both the left and right arytenoid could be achieved and maintained at exercise.     

Primary glaucoma in the Welsh springer spaniel

This paper reports 28 cases of primary angle closure glaucoma in the Welsh springer spaniel, a breed not previously reported to be affected by this condition. Females are affected more frequently than males (2–4:1). The age of onset ranges from 10 weeks to 10 years; however, the distribution is skewed towards the younger dog. The mode of inheritance appears to be dominant, which should make elimination of the trait through breeding control more straightforward. Gonioscopy on clinically affected and clinically normal dogs revealed three angle types; open (normal), partially open and partially closed (equivocal) and closed (affected). The equivocal cases may represent the heterozygous state and the closed the homozygous; alternatively the gene(s) may show variable expression.