Feline cutaneous hemangiosarcoma: a retrospective study of 18 cases (1998-2003)

Cutaneous hemangiosarcoma (HSA) has been infrequently reported in dogs and cats. Medical records of 18 cats diagnosed with cutaneous HSA were reviewed. Age at the time of diagnosis, breed, sex, tumor location, tumor size, treatment type, survival time, disease-free interval, and cause of death were evaluated. Aggressive surgical excision of the tumor was attempted in 10 cats. A complete surgical excision was achieved in five of the 10 cats. Median survival times were statistically longer in cats that underwent surgery versus cats that did not. Cats with cutaneous HSA treated with aggressive surgical excision of their tumors may have a good long-term prognosis.     

Investigation of the effect of acepromazine on intravenous glucose tolerance tests in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of administration of acepromazine on IV glucose tolerance tests (IVGTTs) in dogs. ANIMALS: 8 male mixed-breed dogs. PROCEDURE: With a 1-week interval between tests, each dog underwent (in random order) an IVGTT with or without pretest administration of acepromazine maleate (0.1 mg/kg, SC, 30 minutes prior to the start of the IVGTT). Food was withheld from the dogs for 14 hours prior to each test. Blood samples were obtained at 20, 10, and 1 minute prior to and at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 120, 140, 160, and 180 minutes after administration of glucose. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the baseline (ie, after food was withheld) plasma glucose, lactate, and insulin concentrations between dogs undergoing the IVGTT and acepromazine-IVGTT; however, lower baseline free fatty acid concentration was observed in acepromazine-treated dogs. Analysis of data via the application of Bergman's minimal model of glucose kinetics revealed no differences in insulin sensitivity, acute insulin response to glucose, disposition index, or glucose effectiveness between dogs treated or not treated with acepromazine before testing. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that in dogs undergoing IV glucose tolerance testing, pretest administration of small doses of acepromazine can be used as a means of chemical restraint without interfering with results of the glucose metabolism assessment.     

Evaluation of P-glycoprotein expression in feline lymphoma and correlation with clinical outcome

P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is a transmembrane protein pump involved in drug resistance in canine and human lymphoma. There are no published clinical studies evaluating Pgp expression in feline lymphoma. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of Pgp expression in feline lymphoma and correlate it with clinical outcome. Two human Pgp monoclonal antibodies, C219 and C494, were used to detect Pgp expression in tissue samples from 63 cats with lymphoma. Demographic results appear comparable to recently published feline lymphoma studies. The Kaplan–Meier median remission and survival times were 164 and 571 days, respectively. Fourteen cats had positive expression of Pgp using MAb C219, and 40 were positive with C494. Variables statistically associated with survival included bone marrow involvement, stage, substage, and use of radiation therapy as a part of treatment. Pgp expression as assessed by MAb C219 and C494 is not predictive of remission or survival time in cats with lymphoma.     

我国兽用生物制品质量现状及改进措施

总结了近年来我国兽用生物制品质量监督抽检结果,对产品质量现状进行了分析,并就如何提高兽用生物制品质量提出了应对措施。     

Palliation of clinical signs in 48 dogs with nasal carcinomas treated with coarse-fraction radiation therapy

Data from 48 dogs with nasal carcinomas treated with palliative radiation therapy (PRT) were retrospectively reviewed. Factors potentially influencing resolution of clinical signs and survival after PRT were evaluated. Clinical signs completely resolved in 66% of dogs for a median of 120 days. The overall median survival time was 146 days. Duration of response to PRT was shorter in dogs that had clinical signs for <90 days before PRT. Survival times were shorter in dogs that had partial or no resolution of clinical signs after PRT than in dogs that had complete resolution of clinical signs.     

ABCB1-1Delta polymorphism can predict hematologic toxicity in dogs treated with vincristine.

BACKGROUND: Dogs that harbor the naturally occurring ABCB1-1Delta polymorphism experience increased susceptibility to avermectin-induced neurological toxicosis as a result of deficient P-glycoprotein function. Whether or not the ABCB1-1Delta polymorphism affects susceptibility to toxicity of other P-glycoprotein substrate drugs has not been studied. HYPOTHESIS: Dogs that possess the ABCB1-1Delta mutation are more likely to develop hematologic toxicity associated with vincristine than ABCB1 wild-type dogs. ANIMALS: Thirty-four dogs diagnosed with lymphoma were included in this study. METHODS: Cheek swab samples were obtained from dogs diagnosed with lymphoma that were to be treated with vincristine. DNA was extracted from cheek swabs and the ABCB1 genotype was determined. Hematologic adverse drug reactions were recorded for each dog and graded according to the Veterinary Comparative Oncology Group's criteria for adverse event reporting (Consensus Document). In order to avoid possible bias, ABCB1 genotype results for a particular patient were not disclosed to oncologists until an initial adverse event report had been submitted. RESULTS: Dogs heterozygous or homozygous for the ABCB1-1Delta mutation were significantly more likely to develop hematologic toxicity, specifically neutropenia (P= .0005) and thrombocytopenia (P= .0001), after treatment with vincristine than ABCB1 wild-type dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: At currently recommended dosages (0.5-0.7 mg/M(2)), vincristine is likely to cause hematologic toxicity in dogs with the ABCB1-1Delta mutation, resulting in treatment delays and unacceptable morbidity and mortality. Assessing the ABCB1-1Delta genotype before vincristine administration and decreasing the dosage may prevent toxicity and treatment delays resulting from neutropenia or thrombocytopenia.     

The pharmacokinetics of cytarabine administered subcutaneously,combined with prednisone,in dogs with meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown etiology

The objective of this study was to describe the pharmacokinetics (PK) of cytarabine (CA) after subcutaneous (SC) administration to dogs with meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown etiology (MUE). Twelve dogs received a single SC dose of CA at 50 mg/m² as part of treatment of MUE. A sparse sampling technique was used to collect four blood samples from each dog from 0 to 360 min after administration. All dogs were concurrently receiving prednisone (0.5–2 mg kg^?1day^?1). Plasma CA concentrations were measured by HPLC, and pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling (NLME). Plasma drug concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 2.8 μg/ml. The population estimate (CV%) for elimination half‐life and Tmax of cytarabine in dogs was 1.09 (21.93) hr and 0.55 (51.03) hr, respectively. The volume of distribution per fraction absorbed was 976.31 (10.85%) ml/kg. Mean plasma concentration of CA for all dogs was above 1.0 μg/ml at the 30‐, 60‐, 90‐, and 120‐min time points. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of CA in dogs with MUE after a single 50 mg/m² SC injection in dogs was similar to what has been previously reported in healthy beagles; there was moderate variability in the population estimates in this clinical population of dogs.     

Investigation of bovine haemoplasmas and their association with anaemia in New Zealand cattle

CASE HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A dairy cow, from a herd in the Waikato region of New Zealand, was reported with regenerative anaemia on 12 September 2014. Testing of blood from the animal using PCR assays for Theileria orientalis produced a negative result for both Chitose and Ikeda types.

LABORATORY FINDINGS: Using PCR and DNA sequencing, blood from the cow was positive for Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos. Further testing of another 12 animals from the case herd, 27 days after the affected cow was first reported, showed 11 animals were positive for Candidatus M. haemobos or Mycoplasma wenyonii in the PCR. None of these cattle were clinically anaemic or positive for T. orientalis Ikeda type using PCR.

A convenience sample of 47 blood samples from cattle throughout New Zealand, submitted to the Investigation and Diagnostic Centre (Ministry for Primary Industries) for surveillance testing for T. orientalis Ikeda, was selected for further testing for bovine haemoplasmas. Of these samples, 6/47 (13%) and 13/47(28%) were positive for M. wenyonii and Candidatus M. haemobos, respectively. There was no difference in the proportion of samples positive for the bovine haemaplasmas between cattle with anaemia that were negative for T. orientalis (6/20, 33%), or without anaemia or T. orientalis (10/18, 56%), or from cattle herds experiencing anaemia and infection with T. orientalis Ikeda type (3/9, 33%).

DIAGNOSIS: Bovine haemoplasmosis.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The presence of bovine haemoplasmas in blood does not establish causality for anaemia in cattle. Diagnosis of anaemia associated with haemoplasmosis would require exclusion of other causes of regenerative anaemia and an association of the agent with anaemia in affected cattle herds. The data collected in this study did not provide evidence that bovine haemoplasmas were associated with a large number of outbreaks of anaemia in cattle in New Zealand.     

Fertility Assessment in Sorraia Stallions by Sperm‐Fish and Fkbp6 Genotyping

The Sorraia, a critically endangered indigenous Iberian horse breed, is characterized by low genetic variability, high rate of inbreeding, bad sperm quality and subfertility. Here, we studied 11 phenotypically normal but subfertile Sorraia stallions by karyotyping, sex chromosome sperm‐FISH and molecular analysis of FKBP6 – a susceptibility locus for impaired acrosome reaction (IAR). The stallions had normal sperm concentration (>300 million cells/ml), but the numbers of progressively motile sperm (21%) and morphologically normal sperm (28%) were invariably low. All stallions had a normal 64,XY karyotype. The majority of sperm (89%) had normal haploid sex chromosome content, although 11% of sperm carried various sex chromosome aneuploidies. No correlation was found between the percentage of sperm sex chromosome abnormalities and inbreeding, sperm morphology or stallion age. Direct sequencing of FKBP6 exon 4 for SNPs g.11040315G>A and g.11040379C>A revealed that none of the stallions had the susceptibility genotype (A/A‐A/A) for IAR. Instead, all animals had a G/G‐A/A genotype – a testimony of low genetic variability. The findings ruled out chromosomal abnormalities and genetic predisposition for IAR as contributing factors for subfertility. However, low fertility of the Sorraia stallions could be partly attributed to relatively higher rate of sex chromosome aneuploidies in the sperm.