Canine insulinomas appear hyperintense on MRI T2-weighted images and isointense on T1-weighted images.

Clinical and imaging diagnosis of canine insulinomas has proven difficult due to nonspecific clinical signs and the small size of these tumors. The aim of this retrospective case series study was to describe MRI findings in a group of dogs with pancreatic insulinomas. Included dogs were presented for suspected pancreatic insulinoma, MRI was used to assist with localization of the primary lesion, and the diagnosis was confirmed with surgical exploratory laparotomy and histopathology. The MRI studies for each dog were retrieved and the following data were recorded: T1-weighted and T2-weighted signal intensities, type of contrast enhancement, size and location of the primary lesion, and characteristics of metastatic lesions (if present). A total of four dogs were sampled. In all patients, the insulinoma displayed high-intensity signal on T2-weighted fat saturation images, similar to human studies. On postcontrast T1-weighted fat saturation images, the tumors were primarily isointense to normal pancreatic tissue, in contrast to human studies where a low-intensity signal is typically identified. Abnormal islet tissue was detected with MRI in all four dogs and metastases were identified in three dogs. Variations in the MRI appearance of primary and metastatic lesions were identified and could have been related to the variation of tissue composition, including the presence of neoplastic cells, hemorrhage, and fibrovascular stroma, and to the transformation of this tissue throughout the disease process.

Functional ectopic adrenal carcinoma in a dog.

An 11-year-old spayed female pit bull terrier was presented with a 2-month history of polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, and panting. Serum chemistry, blood and urine analysis, and tests for hyperadrenocorticism suggested an adrenal tumor. Abdominal ultrasound identified a mass caudal to the right kidney. The mass was completely excised and histopathology was consistent with endocrine carcinoma. Three years later there was no evidence of recurrence or metastasis.

Carcinome surrénal ectopique fonctionnel chez un chien. Une chienne Pit-bull terrier stérilisée âgée de 11 ans a été présentée avec une anamnèse de 2 mois de polyurie, de polydipsie, de polyphagie et de halètements. La chimie sérique, l'analyse du sang et de l'urine et des tests pour hyperadrénocorticisme ont suggéré une tumeur surrénale. Une échographie abdominale a identifié une masse caudale au rein droit. La masse a été entièrement excisée et l'histopathologie était conforme à un carcinome endocrinien. Trois ans plus tard, il n'y avait aucune preuve de récurrence ni de métastase.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Intra- and inter-observer reliability of combined segmental measurement techniques for predicting immediate post-deployment intraluminal tracheal stent length in dogs.

This study evaluated segmental measurement techniques for predicting immediate post-deployment intraluminal tracheal stent length in dogs with naturally occurring tracheal collapse. Radiographs of 12 client-owned dogs that underwent intraluminal tracheal stent placement were retrospectively reviewed. Tracheal lengths were divided into 1, 2, 3, or 4 equal segments. Stent lengths were predicted using the widest dorsoventral height of each segment, with and without the addition of 10%, and an accompanying foreshortening chart. Techniques were compared for intra- and inter-observer reliability, and post-deployment stent length predictability. There was good to high intra- and inter-observer reliability for all segmental measurements; median intra-class correlation coefficients were 0.98 and 0.92, respectively. Measuring 2 segments without the addition of 10% to the widths was significantly more accurate in predicting immediate post-deployment stent length in terms of percent (P = 0.03) and absolute difference (P = 0.02). Segmental measuring techniques are repeatable amongst observers and may help guide stent selection.

Fiabilité intra-observateur et inter-observateur des techniques de mesure de segments combinées pour la prédiction de la longueur d'une endoprothèse trachéale intraluminale immédiatement après le déploiement chez les chiens. Cette a étude a évalué les techniques de mesure de segments pour prédire la longueur des endoprothèses trachéales intraluminales immédiatement après le déploiement chez les chiens avec un collapse trachéal naturel. Des radiographies de 12 chiens, appartenant à des propriétaires, qui avaient subi le placement d'une endoprothèse trachéale intraluminale ont été examinées rétrospectivement. Les longueurs trachéales ont été divisées en 1, 2, 3, ou 4 segments égaux. Les longueurs d'endoprothèses ont été prédites en utilisant la hauteur dorsoventrale la plus large de chaque segment, avec et sans l'ajout de 10 % et le tableau d'effet de raccourcissement connexe. Les techniques ont été comparées pour la fiabilité intra-observateur et inter-observateur et la prédictibilité de la longueur de l'endoprothèse après le déploiement. Il y avait une fiabilité intra-observateur et inter-observateur de bonne à élevée pour toutes les mesures de segments; les coefficients moyens de corrélation entre les classes étaient de 0,98 et de 0,92, respectivement. La mesure de 2 segments sans l'ajout de 10 % aux largeurs était significativement plus exacte pour la prédiction de la longueur de l'endoprothèse immédiatement après le déploiement en termes de pourcentage (P = 0,03) et de différence absolue (P = 0,02). Les techniques de mesures de segments peuvent être répétées parmi les observateurs et peuvent aider à guider le choix de l'endoprothèse.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).

Cleft Palate Syndrome in the Endangered Spectacled Flying Fox (Pteropus conspicillatus): Implications for Conservation and Comparative Research.

Cleft palate syndrome, first observed in the spectacled flying fox population in 1998, has produced sporadic neonatal mortality events over the past two decades, with an estimated incidence of up to 1/1000 births per year. This study presents a rudimentary characterisation of the syndrome, presenting gross pathology of syndromic signs upon visual inspection, a histological examination of palate malformations, and syndrome incidence data representing the past two decades. The syndrome presents with a range of signs, primarily congenital palate malformations ranging from a pinhole cleft to a complete hard and soft palate deficit, resulting in the death or abandonment of neonates shortly after birth. The congenital palate malformations are often associated with claw deformities, wiry facial hair, and in some instances, muscle weakness and neurological signs. The natural occurrence of the lethal congenital orofacial birth defects in the spectacled flying fox presents a unique opportunity for the investigation of putative aetiologies, drawing parallels between bat and other mammalian cleft palate risk factors. Further syndrome investigation has the potential to deliver both biodiversity conservation and comparative veterinary and biomedical outcomes.

Call for the application of a biopsychosocial and interdisciplinary approach to the return-to-sport framework of snow sports athletes.

Snow sports such as alpine skiing or snowboarding are associated with a high risk of injury and reinjury and are subject to a very special environment with specific rehabilitation challenges that must be addressed. Due to geographic decentralisation, seasonal climatic limitations, alternation of training in off-snow and on-snow settings and unique loading patterns of practising these sports, special rehabilitation structures and processes are required compared with other sports. In addition, returning to preinjury performance requires a high level of confidence and a resumption of risk-taking in demanding situations such as high-speed skiing and high-amplitude jumps. A biopsychosocial and interdisciplinary approach can be viewed as a holistic, athlete-centred approach that promotes interprofessional communication and collaboration. This is particularly central for managing the physical/biological, psychological and social demands of injury management for snow sports. It can help ensure that rehabilitation content is well coordinated and tailored to individual needs. This is because transitions between different rehabilitation phases and caring professionals are well aligned, and rehabilitation is understood not only as purely 'physical recovery' but also as 'psychological recovery' considering the snow sports-specific setting with specific social norms. Ultimately, this may improve the rehabilitation success of snow sports athletes.

Risk factors for fibular fracture after TPLO.

OBJECTIVE: To determine (1) risk factors for fibular fracture after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) and (2) if a single postoperative radiographic measurement or measurement ratio of the proximal tibial fragment can be used as a predictor for fibular fracture. STUDY DESIGN: Multivariate retrospective clinical study. ANIMALS: Dogs (n=326) with cranial cruciate ligament rupture that had TPLO (n=355). METHODS: Medical records (January 2004-November 2007) and radiographs of dogs that had TPLO were reviewed. TPLO plate type, distance between tibial plateau and proximal screw, proximodistal tibial plateau fragment length, tibial plateau width, the presence of a fibular drill hole filled with a screw or not, and fibular fractures were recorded. RESULTS: The odds of having a fibular fracture were 10 times greater in dogs with a fibular drill hole than in dogs without a drill hole. The odds of having a fibular fracture were 1.46 times greater for every 4.5 g increase in body weight. Tibial plateau angle (TPA) at the time of reevaluation was larger than the postoperative TPA and TPA increase was larger in dogs with fibular drill holes than without (P<.01) and in dogs with fibular fractures than without (P<.01). CONCLUSION: An unfilled fibular drill hole and increased body weight are risk factors for fibular fracture.

Diagnosis of a naturally occurring dual infection of layer chickens with fowlpox virus and gallid herpesvirus 1 (infectious laryngotracheitis virus).

An outbreak of acute respiratory disease in layers was diagnosed as being of dual nature due to fowlpox and infectious laryngotracheitis using a multidisciplinary approach including virus isolation, histopathology, electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The diagnosis was based on virus isolation of gallid herpesvirus 1 (GaHV-1) in chicken kidney cells and fowlpox virus (FWPV) in 9-day-old chicken embryonated eggs inoculated via the chorioallantoic membrane. The histopathology of tracheas from dead birds revealed intra-cytoplasmic and intra-nuclear inclusions suggestive of poxvirus and herpesvirus involvement. The presence of FWPV was further confirmed by electron microscopy, PCR and histology. All FWPV isolates contained the long terminal repeats of reticuloendotheliosis virus as demonstrated by PCR. GaHV-1 isolates were detected by PCR and were shown to have a different restriction fragment length polymorphism pattern when compared with the chicken embryo origin SA2 vaccine strain; however, they shared the same pattern with the Intervet chicken embryo origin vaccine strain. This is a first report of dual infection of chickens with GaHV-1 and naturally occurring FWPV with reticuloendotheliosis virus insertions. Further characterization of the viruses was carried out and the results are reported here.

Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) in Genotoxicology.

In the past two decades, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and array CGH have become indispensable tools in clinical diagnostics and toxicological risk assessment. Initially developed for the genome-wide screening of chromosomal imbalances, that is, copy-number variations in tumor cells, both CGH and array CGH have been employed in genotoxicology and most recently in toxicogenomics. The latter allows a multi-end point analysis of how particular genes react to toxic agents, revealing changes in signaling pathways and other underlying molecular mechanisms. This chapter provides background on the use of CGH and array CGH in the context of genotoxicology, and also a protocol for conventional CGH, so that the basic principles of this methodology can be better understood. Conventional and array CGH investigate DNA expression patterns, copy-number variations across the whole genome, and loss of heterozygosity after genotoxic damage. Array CGH is still cost-intensive but produces exponentially more data, requiring suitable analytical algorithms and sophisticated bioinformatic analysis. As toxicogenomics is an emerging sub-discipline of toxicology research, effectively evaluating toxicogenomic microarray data can be hugely advantageous for human risk assessment, even though international regulatory guidelines on toxicogenomics have yet to be fully agreed and implemented.

Congenital thoracic lordosis and scoliosis in a cat.

A 10-week-old domestic shorthair kitten was referred for intermittent episodes of dyspnea, cyanosis and a suspected congenital thoracic anomaly. Physical examination showed an obvious palpable concavity in the caudal thoracic spine. Thoracic radiographs showed severe caudal thoracic lordosis from T5 to T13 with a Cobb angle of -77°, a centroid lordosis angle of -68°, a vertebral index of 6.3 and a flattened sternum. Severe loss of vital capacity was suspected and surgical correction of the thoracic deformity was to be performed in two separate stages, the first being surgical ventral distraction on the sternum to increase thoracic volume and rigid fixation with an external splint. The second stage, if required, would be surgical correction of the spinal deformity to also increase thoracic volume. The initial stage of surgery was performed and postoperative radiographs showed a vertebral index of 10.3. The kitten suffered a left sided pneumothorax in recovery and died from cardiorespiratory arrest despite immediate pleural drainage and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Treatment recommendations that may benefit future case management are discussed.

Expansion of GAA triplet repeats in the human genome: unique origin of the FRDA mutation at the center of an Alu.

Friedreich ataxia is caused by expansion of a GAA triplet repeat (GAA-TR) in the FRDA gene. Normal alleles contain <30 triplets, and disease-causing expansions (66-1700 triplets) arise via hyperexpansion of premutations (30-65 triplets). To gain insight into GAA-TR instability we analyzed all triplet repeats in the human genome. We identified 988 (GAA)(8+) repeats, 291 with >or=20 triplets, including 29 potential premutations (30-62 triplets). Most other triplet repeats were restricted to <20 triplets. We estimated the expected frequency of (GAA)(6+) repeats to be negligible, further indicating that GAA-TRs have undergone significant expansion. Eighty-nine percent of (GAA)(8+) sequences map within G/A islands, and 58% map within the poly(A) tails of Alu elements. Only two other (GAA)(8+) sequences shared the central Alu location seen at the FRDA locus. One showed allelic variation, including expansions analogous to short Friedreich ataxia mutations. Our data demonstrate that GAA-TRs have expanded throughout primate evolution with the generation of potential premutation alleles at multiple loci.