Evaluation of nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of aminosidine (paromomycin)-allopurinol combination in dogs with leishmaniosis due to Leishmania infantum: A randomized, blinded, controlled study.

Canine leishmaniosis due to Leishmania infantum is a widespread zoonotic disease. Although aminosidine can be an effective treatment, current therapeutic recommendations do not advocate its use, mainly due to concerns regarding the potential nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of this drug. The aim of this randomized, blinded, controlled study was to evaluate the nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of aminosidine-allopurinol combination and compare it with that of meglumine antimonate-allopurinol combination in non-azotemic dogs with leishmaniosis. Forty dogs with leishmaniosis were randomly assigned to be treated with either aminosidine at 15 mg/kg, subcutaneously, once daily for 28 days (group A) or with meglumine antimonate at 100 mg/kg, subcutaneously, once daily for 28 days (group B). In addition to either drug, dogs in both groups were administered allopurinol at 10 mg/kg per os twice daily for 2 months. Kidney function was evaluated through measurement of serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and cystatin-c concentrations and complete urinalysis, including protein-to-creatinine ratio, at baseline and after 14, 28, and 60 days from the beginning of the treatment. At the same time points, vestibular and auditory functions were evaluated through neurological examination and brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) recordings of wave I, wave V, inter-wave I-V latencies, and minimum hearing thresholds. None of the dogs developed clinicopathological evidence of kidney disease during the study. Serum creatinine concentration increased >0.3 mg/dl over baseline in 2 dogs in group A and in 5 dogs in group B. Parameters of kidney function were not significantly different or were improved compared to baseline and the only difference between the two groups was the lower concentration of serum creatinine in group A. None of the dogs developed peripheral vestibular syndrome or hearing impairment. At the end of the study, parameters of auditory function were not significantly different or were improved compared to baseline and there were no differences between the two groups. The results of this study show that the nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of aminosidine, when administered to non-azotemic dogs with leishmaniosis at 15 mg/kg subcutaneously once daily for 28 days along with allopurinol, is minimal and does not differ from that of meglumine antimonate.

Mycotic encephalitis and nephritis in a dog due to infection with Cladosporium cladosporioides.

The dematiaceous fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides is a widely distributed saprophyte that is reported to occasionally infect the lung, skin, eye and brain of humans. This report describes a German shepherd dog with granulomatous encephalitis and nephritis due to C. cladosporioides infection. Although the fungal organisms appeared non-pigmented in haematoxylin and eosin stained sections, they were readily identified with histochemical stains. Semi-nested polymerase chain reaction using universal fungal primers amplified fungal DNA from fixed tissue that had identity to that of C. cladosporioides on sequencing.

Serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme activities in canine malignant mammary neoplasms with and without osseous transformation.

BACKGROUND: Increased serum activity of total alkaline phosphatase (TALP) has been found in dogs with mammary neoplasms, especially malignant mixed tumors. We hypothesized that the bone isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (BALP), a specific indicator of osteoblastic activity and bone formation, may contribute to increased TALP in dogs with mammary neoplasms with osseous transformation. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare serum TALP, BALP, and other ALP isoenzyme activities in dogs with mammary malignant neoplasms with and without osseous transformation. METHODS: Twenty-one female dogs with malignant mammary neoplasms were compared with 21 clinically healthy, age-matched female control dogs. Physical, clinicopathologic (including preprandial and postprandial serum bile acids, ACTH stimulation, and low-dose dexamethasone suppression tests), radiographic, and ultrasonographic examinations were performed on all dogs with tumors to assess coexisting conditions. On the basis of histologic examination of excised tumors, dogs were further classified as having epithelial (n = 11) or mesenchymal/mixed (epithelial-mesenchymal) (n = 10) neoplasms, the latter of which had histologic and radiologic evidence of bone formation. Serum TALP, BALP, liver alkaline phosphatase (LALP), and corticosteroid-induced alkaline phosphatase (CALP) activities were measured using biochemical methods. RESULTS: Dogs with malignant mammary tumors had significantly higher (P < .05) median serum TALP (170 U/L), BALP (59 U/L), LALP (49 U/L), and CALP (24 U/L) activities, compared with control dogs (81, 32, 37, and 5 U/L, respectively). Significantly higher activities of BALP and LALP were found in dogs with epithelial neoplasms; whereas, only CALP activity was higher in dogs with mesenchymal/mixed neoplasms. There was no significant difference in TALP or isoenzyme activitities between epithelial and mesenchymal/mixed groups. CONCLUSION: BALP activity is increased in some dogs with malignant mammary tumors but does not account for the increase in TALP in dogs with neoplasms that have osseous transformation.

Duration and severity of clinical signs as prognostic indicators in 30 dogs with thoracolumbar disk disease after surgical decompression.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the duration and severity of neurological dysfunction as prognostic indicators for the final outcome in 30 dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease, treated surgically with hemilaminectomy without concurrent prophylactic fenestration. The lesion localization was assessed comparing plain radiographic, myelographic and surgical findings and success rates were evaluated during case follow-up. Evidence of a single disk extrusion existed in 17 dogs on survey spinal radiographs, while myelography revealed definite spinal cord compression in 28 cases and was inconclusive in the remaining two cases. Case follow-up continued for a period ranging from 3 months to 2 years post-operatively, depending on the degree of neurological dysfunction on presentation and owner compliance. The severity of clinical signs and the interval elapsing prior to decompressive surgery did not correlate with the case outcome, with 12 of 20 dogs (60%) that exhibited the most pronounced neurological dysfunction (paraplegia with or without analgesia) regaining voluntary motor function during the follow-up period. Recurrences proven to be disk-related did not occur in any dog throughout the post-surgical observation period. It was concluded that the time elapsing from loss of motor function and the severity of clinical signs is not an objective method to predict the case outcome.

Diagnostic correlation of CT-MRI and histopathology in 10 dogs with brain neoplasms.

Ten dogs with primary (n = 8) and metastatic (n = 2) brain tumours were studied in an attempt to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Of the clinical signs noticed, seizures (seven of 10), behavioural abnormalities and cognition dysfunction (seven of 10), compulsive walking and circling (six of 10), sensorimotor (five of 10) and neuro-opthalmological (two of 10) dysfunction were the most common. In all 10 animals that finally died of the disease or were killed, the histopathological diagnosis that followed necropsy was taken as a golden standard in the CT or MRI prediction of the histological type of brain neoplasms. In every instance, tumour detection, morphology and histological differentiation were possible with the aid of either CT (seven of 10) or MRI (three of 10) imaging especially after contrast enhancement. Only one CT-evaluated dog, diagnosed as meningioma, was found to be astrocytoma on histopathology. Interestingly, a rare case of cerebellar medulloblastoma was correctly identified in MRI scans.

Juvenile laryngeal paralysis in three Siberian husky x Alaskan malamute puppies.

Three three-month-old Siberian husky x Alaskan malamute crossbreds had suffered episodic inspiratory dyspnoea and stridor for four to eight weeks and their endurance had decreased. In two of them bilateral, and in the other unilateral, laryngeal paralysis was diagnosed by laryngoscopy. In the nucleus ambiguus of the dogs there was a depletion of motor neurons, neuronal degeneration and mild gliosis, but there were no lesions in the root and peripheral segments of the recurrent laryngeal nerves.

Total serum alkaline phosphatase activity in dogs with mammary neoplasms: a prospective study on 79 natural cases.

Increased total alkaline phosphatase (TALP) activity in the serum, long noticed in canine mammary tumours among other neoplasms, has not been yet associated with malignancy, osseous transformation of neoplastic tissue or histopathological typing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to correlate this biochemical abnormality with the above-mentioned parameters, in 79 adult to elderly female dogs with mammary neoplasms, without evidence of metastatic or any other disease. Histopathology disclosed that 64 (81%) of these neoplasms were malignant and 15 (19%) benign, belonging to various histological types. Radiology and histopathology revealed the presence of osseous tissue in 18 (22.8%) cases. The malignant neoplasms were subsequently allocated into group A including 46 (74.2%) of epithelial origin and group B with 16 (25.8%) neoplasms of both epithelial and mesenchymal origin ('malignant mixed' tumours). In addition, their benign counterparts were divided into group C (adenomas, fibroadenomas) and group D (benign mixed tumours) that included seven (46.7%) and eight (53.3%) tumours, respectively. Almost 55% of the dogs with malignant and 47% with benign tumours had increased serum-TALP activity. However, no significant difference in serum-TALP activity was found between the dogs with malignant (mean +/- SE: 243.7 +/- 37.4 U/l) and benign (167.9 +/- 38.4 U/l) neoplasms, with (238.9 +/- 45.3 U/l) and without (226.5 +/- 38.3 U/l) osseous transformation, with (298.5 +/- 85.6 U/l) or without (201.2 +/- 30.5 U/l) myoepithelial cell proliferation and with different tumour size (T1/T2: 175.1 +/- 34.9 and T3: 254.5 +/- 42.5 U/l). In histopathological typing, the only difference noticed involved the malignant neoplasms of group A (190.5 +/- 25.5 U/l) compared with group B (378 +/- 124.6 U/l) dogs. The higher increase of serum-TALP activity in 'malignant mixed' tumours could not be attributed to osseous transformation or new ALP isoenzyme production by myoepithelial cells. Increased serum-TALP activity is of no apparent diagnostic (as to tumour type) or prognostic value.

Presumed localized tetanus in two cats.

In this report two cases of localised tetanus in two young (<1 year) intact male and outdoor DSH cats, which had been missing, are described. Clinical examination revealed severe muscular spasms on the right (case 1) or both thoracic limbs (case 2). In the latter cat, wrinkling of the forehead and mild trismus were also seen. The routine diagnostic workup (CBC, survey radiographs of the spine, CSF analysis) did not reveal any abnormalities in both cats. EMG testing on the affected muscles in the second animal showed persistent spontaneous motor unit potentials, strongly indicating tetanus. The treatment, that was symptomatic (diazepam, metronidazole) and supportive (physical therapy, assist feeding and intravenous fluid therapy) resulted in the progressive improvement of limb rigidity and the restoration of motor dysfunction in a period of 5- (case 1) and 2- (case 2) month duration.

Papillary meningioma in the dog: a clinicopathological study of two cases.

Two cases of canine papillary meningioma are reported. The first animal, an 11-year-old male Boxer, presented with vestibular ataxia and the tumour was located in the left pontomedullary region. The second animal, a 15-year-old female cross-bred Miniature Poodle, presented with dementia, truncal ataxia and hypermetria, and the tumour was located in the right semilunar ganglion of Gasser. In the first case, histopathological examination showed that the papillary pattern merged with a typical syncytial meningioma, with extensive areas of necrosis. In the second case, the multilobular tumour had lobules with a purely syncytial, fibrous or transitional histological pattern, and lobules with intermingling papillary and secretory histological patterns. Both tumours exhibited histological features of malignancy, but evidence of remote metastasis was not found.

Papillary meningioma in the cerebellum of a cat.

An unusual papillary meningioma in a cat with progressive cerebellar ataxia is described. Computed tomography revealed the presence of a primary tumour. Microscopically, the tumour was seen to arise from the cerebellar pia mater, forming perivascular structures composed of a single layer of cuboidal to columnar epithelial cells. By immunolabelling, the neoplastic cells appeared positive for cytokeratin, vimentin and S-100 protein. Ultrastructural examination, together with the immunocytochemical findings, indicated the mesenchymal and epithelial nature of the tumour.