Pemphigus and pemphigoid in domestic animals: an overview

Pemphigus and pemphigoid are uncommon dermatological entities in domestic animals and of a presumed autoimmune nature. In one form or another, they have been reported in the dog, cat, horse and goat. Although these diseases are considered to be bullous dermatoses, the clinical presentation may vary from ulcerative to exfoliative to proliferative depending on the individual condition. Currently, four variants of pemphigus are recognized (vulgaris, vegetans, foliaceus, erythematosus) and two of pemphigoid (bullous, cicatricial) although cicatricial pemphigoid has not yet been conclusively demonstrated in animals. Diagnosis is based on history, clinical signs, histopathology and immunopathology. Therapy must be immunosuppressive to be effective and is palliative rather than curative.     

The problem of the pathomorphological diagnosis "death by drowning"--case histories

The paper describes pathomorphological findings in two dogs and one cat with the intention to clarify whether these animals died by drowning. The investigations are supplemented by experimental results of water instillation into the lung to induce signs of emphysema aquosum post mortem. Additionally, histopathology of the skin lesions due to water exposition after death are demonstrated by systematic investigations of four different localizations for 10 days. Critical evaluation of the results and literature references in human forensic pathology indicate that post mortem findings as described in this paper, especially those of the so called "drowning lung" can be attributed to death by drowning.     

Elderly migration and development in small communities

"This paper develops a conceptual model of the process of community change [in the United States] in response to elderly inmigration. Analysis of intra-regional variation in elderly migration patterns in Appalachia, and synthesis of an emergent literature on the benefits and costs of attracting elderly migrants, serve as a backdrop for case studies, based on field observations and interviews, of three contrasting Appalachian communities at different stages of development as retirement destinations."