Encephalic meningioangiomatosis in a dog with high-grade undefined glioma.

Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare proliferative meningovascular disorder that affects mainly the cerebral cortex, brainstem and spinal cord of humans and animals and can coexist with other proliferative disorders. A 7.5-year-old male Brazilian Campeiro Bulldog died after a convulsive crisis and cardiorespiratory arrest. At necropsy, a firm, white mass involving the piriform and right occipital lobes was seen. Histologically, the mass consisted of two morphologically distinct entities that collided: a congenital malformation characterized by a proliferation of meningothelial cells around blood vessels, within the perivascular spaces; and a neoplasm composed of two cell populations with astrocytic and oligodendrocytic differentiation. Meningothelial cells and neoplastic glial cells immunolabelled for vimentin. This first reported case of encephalic MA with a high-grade undefined glioma in a dog was confirmed through clinical signs, pathological and immunohistochemical findings.

Graduação histológica e aspectos clínico-patológicos relacionados em 22 meningiomas de cães / Histological grading and related clinical and pathological aspects of 22 canine meningioma

Vinte e dois casos de meningiomas em cães, diagnosticados num período de aproximadamente 18 anos, foram revisados. Os neoplasmas foram graduados e classificados histologicamente de acordo com os critérios da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS de 2007) para meningiomas em humanos adaptados para cães, em Grau I (G-I; benignos), Grau II (G-II; atípicos) e Grau III (G-III; anaplásico ou maligno). Dos protocolos de necropsias foram retiradas adicionalmente informações referentes ao sexo, idade, raça, evolução clínica, sinais clínicos, localização anatômica e achados macroscópicos. Os meningiomas intracranianos supratentoriais foram os mais frequentes em relação às demais localizações intracranianas ou intraespinhais. Os intracranianos caracterizaram-se principalmente por sinais clínicos de alteração tálamo-cortical. Os intraespinhais caracterizaram-se principalmente por causarem ataxia. Meningiomas G-I foram os mais frequentes (63,6%) nos 22 cães, seguidos pelos G-III (22,7%) e G-II (13,6%). Os G-I caracterizaram-se por ter o subtipo psammomatoso como o mais frequente, mais de um padrão morfológico em um mesmo tumor, e um terço deles apresentando áreas de invasão do tecido nervoso, 71,4% dos casos acometendo fêmeas, uma média de idade de 11 anos, cães com raça definida como os mais acometidos e por ter o maior tempo de sobrevivência após a manifestação dos sinais clínicos. Os meningiomas G-II caracterizaram-se por ter o subtipo cordoide como o mais frequente, invasão do tecido nervoso em um terço dos casos, somente fêmeas acometidas, uma média de idade de 12 anos, dois terços dos cães acometidos sem raça definida e o tempo máximo de sobrevivência de 20 dias. Os meningiomas G-III caracterizaram-se por ter o subtipo papilar como o mais frequente, invasão do tecido nervoso em 80% dos casos, 60% dos casos acometendo fêmeas, uma média de idade de 8 anos, 80% dos cães acometidos da raça Boxer e o tempo máximo de sobrevivência de 90 dias. Este estudo permitiu estabelecer uma relação entre os três graus histológicos observados em 22 casos de meningiomas em cães com vários parâmetros clínico-epidemiológicos e patológicos, fornecendo informações úteis para um melhor conhecimento da correlação entre a graduação histológica e a evolução clínica desses neoplasmas.(AU)

Twenty two cases of meningiomas in dogs, diagnosed in about 18 years, were analyzed. The neoplasms were histologicaly classified and graded according to the World and Health Organization (WHO of 2007) for human meningiomas, adapted for dogs, in Grade I (G-I; benign), Grade II (G-II; atypical), and Grade III (G-III; anaplastic or malignant). Additional data about gender, age, breed, skull conformation, clinical course and signs, anatomic localization, gross and histological findings were obtained from the necropsy reports. Intracranial and supratentorial meningiomas were the most frequent in relation to the other intracranial or intraspinal sites. The intracranial ones were characterized mainly by clinical signs of thalamic-cortical alteration. Intraspinal ones were mainly characterized by ataxia. G-I meningiomas were the most frequent (63.6%) in dogs, followed by G-III (22.7%) and G-II (13.6%). GI were characterized by having the psammomatous subtype as the most frequent, more than one morphological pattern in the same tumor, one third presenting areas of invasion of nervous tissue, 71.4% of cases involving females, a mean age of 11 years, pure breed dogs as the most affected ones and for having the longest survival time after the manifestation of clinical signs. G-II meningiomas were characterized by having the chordoid subtype as the most frequent, invasion of nervous tissue in one third of cases, only females affected, a mean age of 12 years, two-thirds of the dogs affected were mongrels and the maximum survival time of 20 days. The G-III meningiomas were characterized by having the papillary subtype as the most frequent, invasion of the nervous tissue in 80% of the cases, 60% of the cases involving females, a mean age of 8 years, 80% of dogs affected were Boxers and the maximum survival time of 90 days. In conclusion, this study allowed to establish a relationship between the three histological grades observed in 22 cases of meningiomas in dogs with various clinical-epidemiological and pathological parameters, providing useful information for a better understanding of the correlation between the histological grading and the clinical evolution of these neoplasms.(AU)

Caracterização histoquímica no diagnóstico da babesiose bovina por Babesia bovis / Histochemical characterization in the diagnosis of bovine babesiosis by Babesia bovis

A babesiose é uma doença hemolítica transmitida por carrapatos e causada por protozoários intraeritrocitários do gênero Babesia. Esta é uma doença de incidência elevada na Região Sul do Brasil e responsável por perdas econômicas consideráveis. O diagnóstico clínico-patológico pode ser feito através da demonstração do parasito pelo exame de esfregaços sanguíneos ou de tecidos frescos. Entretanto, com frequência, somente órgãos fixados em formol são remetidos para laboratórios de patologia, o que impossibilita a realização do esfregaço. O principal objetivo deste estudo foi encontrar técnicas histoquímicas alternativas e capazes de aprimorar a evidenciação de Babesia bovis intraeritrocitária em tecidos fixados em formol. Para este estudo, foram analisadas retrospectivamente amostras de tecidos de 50 casos de necropsias de bovinos, as quais haviam sido fixadas em formol e processadas rotineiramente para histopatologia. Os casos foram divididos em um grupo controle, constituído por 12 casos de babesiose cerebral com substância cinzenta encefálica róseo-cereja característica (grupo A), e 38 casos sugestivos de tristeza parasitária bovina (grupo B), conforme os protocolos de necropsias. Foram testadas as técnicas histoquímicas de Azul Alciano, Azul de Metileno, Azul de Toluidina, Giemsa, Gram (método de McCallum-Goodpasture), Grocott, Ácido Periódico de Schiff e Ziehl-Neelsen. Dentre estas, observou-se que as técnicas de Azul de Metileno e Azul de Toluidina permitiram observar características morfológicas e tintoriais de maneira mais nítida, auxiliando na identificação de B. bovis. Adicionalmente, foram estabelecidos vários parâmetros clínico-epidemiológicos e anatomopatológicos da babesiose por B. bovis.(AU)

Babesiosis is a hemolytic tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoal parasites of the genus Babesia. This is a disease of high incidence in the southern Brazil and responsible for considerable economic losses. Clinical-pathological diagnosis can be made by demonstrating the parasite by examining blood smears or fresh tissues. However, frequently, only formalin-fixed organs are sent to pathology laboratories, which makes it impossible to perform the smears. The main objective of this study was to find alternative histochemical techniques capable to improve the identification of intraerythrocytic Babesia bovis in histological sections. For this study, tissue samples from 50 bovine necropsy cases were retrospectively analyzed, which had been fixed in formalin and routinely processed for histopathology. The cases were divided into a control group, consisting of 12 cases of cerebral babesiosis with characteristic pink-cherry gray matter (group A), and 38 cases suggestive of cattle tick fever (group B), according to necropsy protocols. Histochemical techniques of Alcian Blue, Methylene Blue, Toluidine Blue, Giemsa, Gram (McCallum-Goodpasture method), Grocott, Periodic Acid of Schiff and Ziehl-Neelsen were tested. Among these, it was observed that the techniques of Methylene Blue and Toluidine Blue allowed to observe morphological and dye characteristics in a clearer way, aiding in the identification of B. bovis. In addition, several clinical-epidemiological and anatomopathological parameters of babesiosis caused by B. bovis were established.(AU)

Prevalence of thyroiditis and immunohistochemistry study searching for a morphologic consensus in morphology of autoimmune thyroiditis in a 4613 autopsies series.

We sought to verify the prevalence of lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) in autopsy materials. Cases examined between 2003 and 2007 at the Department of Pathology of Faculty of Medicine of São Paulo University were studied. Immunohistochemical analyses were conducted in selected cases to characterize the type of infiltrating mononuclear cells; in addition, we evaluated the frequency of apoptosis by TUNEL assay technique and caspase-3 immunostaining. Significant increase in overall thyroiditis frequency was observed in the present series when compared with the previous report (2.2978% vs. 0.0392%). Thyroiditis was more prevalent among older people. Selected cases of LT and HT (40 cases each) had their infiltrating lymphocytes characterized by immunohistochemical analyses. Both LT and HT showed similar immunostaining patterns for CD4, CD8, CD68, thus supporting a common pathophysiology mechanism and indicating that LT and HT should be considered different presentations of a same condition, that is, autoimmune thyroiditis. Moreover, apoptosis markers strongly evidenced that apoptosis was present in all studied cases. Our results demonstrated an impressive increase in the prevalence of thyroiditis during recent years and our data support that the terminology of autoimmune thyroiditis should be used to designate both LT and HT. This classification would facilitate comparison of prevalence data from different series and studies.

Aluminum alters intracellular calcium homeostasis in vitro.

The present paper reports data regarding the influence of aluminum, at micromolar concentrations, on intracellular calcium homeostasis. Al3+ modifies Ca2+ uptake in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), accelerates Ca2+ release from mitochondria and strongly inhibits Ca2+-ATPase activity with a consequent high-level calcium accumulation inside the cell. These results suggest that Al3+ neurotoxicity may be related to an alteration of the intracellular calcium regulatory system.

A long-term toxicological investigation on the effect of tris(maltolate)aluminum(III) in rabbits.

The toxicity of i.v. injected hydrophilic aluminum complex tris(maltolate)aluminum(III) was studied in New Zealand white rabbits for a period of time ranging from 5 to 63 wk. Animals were injected 3-5 times a week with 1 mL of 7.5 mM Al(malt)3 and one rabbit with a dose 10 times higher after 14 wk of treatment. Autopical examination was performed on all animals. Chemoclinical analysis (glucose, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, bilirubin, alanin aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl-transferase, LDH, CK, total protein, triglycerides, and Ca2+) gave no variation in treated animals with respect to the control. The toxicological data show a moderate systemic general toxicity at doses far higher than those used in similar previous experiments using Al(acac)3 (acac = 2,4 pentanedionate), a hydrolytically stable and more lipophilic aluminum(III) complex (1). The diversity of behavior is discussed in terms of metal speciation as well as respect to the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the two complexes in aqueous solution. The toxicological model presented here emphasizes that neutral, water compatible aluminum(III) complexes are to be considered as promising tools for toxicological experiments providing biological models of human pathologies.