Absence of mutations in the survival motor neuron cDNA from labrador retrievers with an inherited myopathy.

The clinical phenotype of hereditary myopathy of labrador retrievers is consistent, but the pathological changes within muscle biopsy specimens can vary from type 1 fibre predominance (type 2 fibre deficiency) to dystrophic changes or overt neurogenic atrophy. The condition shares many clinical and pathological features with the mildest form of human childhood spinal muscular atrophy, and the survival motor neuron gene was therefore evaluated in dogs with the disease. Direct sequencing and comparisons of cdna from the gene in seven labrador retrievers homozygous for the disease and four control dogs revealed no nucleotide mutations leading to changes in the deduced amino acid sequences. A single polymorphism was detected in two of the seven affected dogs, which was characterised by a nucleotide substitution at amino acid position 1155 within the non-coding 3' untranslated region of exon 8. Northern blot analysis indicated that there were no differences in the steady state levels of mrna from the gene of the affected labrador retrievers and control dogs.

Mammary adenocarcinoma in a male squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus).

A nodule was identified within the right mammary gland of a 16-year-old male squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus). The mass was excised and diagnosed as a mammary adenocarcinoma. The monkey developed congestive heart failure 1.5 years later and was euthanatized. At necropsy, a subcutaneous mass was found in the right axillary region. Histologically, the mass was identified as a lymph node whose architecture was effaced by neoplastic cells resembling those of the mammary tumor. Metastasis to internal organs was not observed. This is the first reported case of a mammary tumor in a New World primate and the only known case of mammary cancer in a male nonhuman primate.

Endometriosis and a paraovarian cyst in a rhesus macaque.

We describe endometriosis in an aged rhesus macaque. There was a large mass and a related paraovarian cyst, typical of the disease. Endometriosis is a common finding in nonhuman primate. In this report, we also review the pathophysiology of the disease and summarize the historical and more recent relevant literature. Given the frequency of endometriosis in the rhesus monkey and the long-life spans (15-30 years) of nonhuman primates in captivity, endometriosis should be suspected in animals displaying the earliest signs of the disease: anorexia, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, irregular menstrual cycles, or infertility. Despite recent advances in the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for endometriosis in women, the disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and ultimately, a cause of mortality, in the older nonhuman primate.