Pituitary apoplexy-like disease in 4 dogs

BACKGROUND: Pituitary apoplexy in humans is a clinical syndrome resulting from sudden infarction, hemorrhage, or both in a normal or an adenomatous pituitary gland. OBJECTIVE: Describe a clinical syndrome in dogs similar to pituitary apoplexy in humans. ANIMALS: Four dogs exhibiting a sudden onset of neurologic signs. METHODS: A retrospective study was used, including clinical examination, computed tomography (CT), postmortem examination, and histopathology of the brain. Pituitary tissue from 3 of the dogs was subjected to immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: Four dogs (2 Mongrels, 1 Bordeaux Dog, and 1 Cocker Spaniel; median age, 11 years; median body weight, 20.5 kg) presented with acute neurologic signs including depression (n = 3), behavioral changes (n = 1), vision loss (n = 1), seizures (n = 1), and collapse (n = 1). CT disclosed suprasellar infarction, hemorrhage, or both associated with a pituitary macroadenoma in 3 dogs and a frank hemorrhage in a nonadenomatous pituitary gland in 1 dog. CT findings were correlated with postmortem findings, and pituitary apoplexy was confirmed by histopathology and immunocytochemistry of the pituitary tissue. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study provides histopathologic evidence of pituitary apoplexy in dogs. The results are relevant for future diagnosis and treatment of pituitary disease in dogs.     

Stability of monoterpenes encapsulated in gum Arabic by spray-drying

Microencapsulation using spray-drying was tested with gum arabic and monoterpenes as wall and core materials, respectively. Citral, linalool, beta-myrcene, limonene, and beta-pinene were used at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30% with respect to the wall material. The greatest percentages of retention occurred at a concentration of 10%. Linalool and citral presented the greatest losses with increase in concentration. The hydrocarbons used were the most retained. Of the hydrocarbons, beta-pinene was better retained in the capsules than limonene, and beta-myrcene was the least retained of all. The capsules presented similar external morphologies, with no apparent cracks or porosity and an average size varying between 15.7 and 23.2 microm. The stability of the capsules to temperature was monitored for 33 days. The degradation products of the monoterpenes were evaluated. The results indicated a greater stability of the capsules containing beta-pinene and citral than of those containing linalool and beta-myrcene presenting the lowest retentions.     

MULTIDETECTOR‐ROW COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PATTERNS OF BRONCHOESPHAGEAL ARTERY HYPERTROPHY AND SYSTEMIC‐TO‐PULMONARY FISTULA IN DOGS

Anomalies involving arterial branches in the lungs are one of the causes of hemoptysis in humans and dogs. Congenital and acquired patterns of bronchoesophageal artery hypertrophy have been reported in humans based on CT characteristics. The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe clinical, echocardiographic, and multidetector computed tomography features of bronchoesophageal artery hypertrophy and systemic‐to‐pulmonary arterial communications in a sample of 14 dogs. Two main vascular patterns were identified in dogs that resembled congenital and acquired conditions reported in humans. Pattern 1 appeared as an aberrant origin of the right bronchoesophageal artery, normal origin of the left one, and enlargement of both the bronchial and esophageal branches that formed a dense network terminating in a pulmonary artery through an orifice. Pattern 2 appeared as a normal origin of both right and left bronchoesophageal arteries, with an enlarged and tortuous course along the bronchi to the periphery of the lung, where they communicated with subsegmental pulmonary arteries. Dogs having Pattern 1 also had paraesophageal and esophageal varices, with the latter being confirmed by videoendoscopy examination. Authors conclude that dogs with Pattern 1 should be differentiated from dogs with other congenital vascular systemic‐to‐pulmonary connections. Dogs having Pattern 2 should be evaluated for underlying pleural or pulmonary diseases. Bronchoesophageal artery hypertrophy can be accompanied by esophageal venous engorgement and should be included in the differential diagnosis for esophageal and paraesophageal varices in dogs.     

Primary gastric histiocytic sarcoma in a dog--a case report

A 12-year-old intact female mixed breed dog was presented for chronic, intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea. On endoscopic examination a protruding mass arising from the mucosal surface of the pyloric region was detected. Cytological and histological examination revealed an accumulation of pleomorphic round/oval phagocytic cells suggesting histiocytic origin. This was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. No extra-gastric involvement was detected on clinical examination or at necropsy. This is the first report of primary gastric histiocytic sarcoma in a dog.     

A relevant long-term impact of the circulation of a potentially contaminated vaccine on the distribution of scrapie in Italy. Results from a retrospective cohort study

ABSTRACT: A sudden increase in the incidence of scrapie in Italy in 1997 was subsequently linked to theuse of a potentially infected vaccine against contagious agalactia. The relative risk for theexposed farms ranged between 6 and 40. The aim of this study was to assess the long-termimpact of exposure to the potentially scrapie-contaminated vaccine on the Italian classicalscrapie epidemic. We carried out a retrospective cohort study, fitting mixed-effects Poissonregression models, dividing national geographic areas into exposure categories on the basis ofthe vaccine circulation levels. We took into account the sensitivity of the surveillance systemapplied in the different areas. The population attributable fraction (PAF) was used to assessthe impact on the total population of farms associated with the effect of circulation of thevaccine. The provinces where the vaccine was more often sold were noted to have a higherlevel of disease when compared to those provinces where the vaccine was sold less often(incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-6.5). The populationattributable fraction was high (68.4%). Standardization techniques allowed to account for thepotential of geographical variability in the sensitivity of the Italian surveillance system.Although the number of the directly exposed farms was limited, an important long-termimpact of the vaccine circulation could be quantified in terms of secondary outbreaks likelydue to the exchange of animals from directly exposed flocks.     

Multilobular tumour of bone of the thoracic wall in a cat

Multilobular tumour of bone is a rare neoplasm of the skull in middle-aged, medium-to-large breed dogs even if a few cases have also been described in cats and one horse. The aim of the present paper is to show both the computed-tomography features and the pathological findings of the above neoplasm affecting the thoracic wall of a cat. To the best of the authors' knowledge, such anomalous tumour localisation has never been reported and imaged in feline medicine.