First report of a Cryptococcus magnus infection in a cat.

This report describes an uncommon case of cryptococcosis in an apparently immunocompetent cat caused by Cryptococcus magnus. An amputation of the complete left foreleg and excision of the ipsilateral cervical lymph node were performed in a young-adult male Domestic Shorthair cat due to suspicion of a tumor. Granulomatous dermatitis, panniculitis, myositis, and lymphadenitis were diagnosed histologically. Intralesional, numerous round-to-ovoid yeast cells showing no capsule were detected within macrophages using special staining methods. The tissue material cultured on Sabouraud's glucose agar at 26°C yielded abundant growth of yeast colonies. Morphological, physiological, and molecular analyses of the yeasts demonstrated that the fungus was C. magnus. Response to treatment with fluconazole was fast and effective, and one year after the end of the therapy no further clinical signs of infection were observed.

Immunotherapy with biochemically dissociated fractions of Propionibacterium acnes in a murine ovarian cancer model.

The antitumor effect of two strains of Propionibacterium acnes (PAI and PAII) and chemically derived fractions from the whole bacterial cell were studied using a murine ovarian teratocarcinoma (MOT) model. When injected i.p. in high doses (700 to 1400 micrograms/mouse), both strains produce survival of a significant proportion of tumor-bearing mice (30 to 90%). On a weight to weight basis, however, PAI was significantly more effective than PAII. PAI and PAII were extracted using pyridine, which yielded four fractions, i.e., pyridine-extracted strains PAI and PAII (PA-PEI and PA-PEII, respectively) which are composed of the cell wall material extracted by pyridine, and the residues of PA-PEI and PA-PEII (PA-RI and PA-RII, respectively) which are composed of the residue material following the chemical extraction. The chemical composition of PA-PEI was different from that of PA-PEII (the latter had proportionately three times as many carbohydrates and one-third of the protein content of the former) and so were their antitumor properties in the MOT model. PA-PEI had markedly reduced antitumor effect when compared to the untreated cell on a per weight basis. Furthermore, curability was only seen when using a high dose (1400 micrograms/mouse). By contrast, the cell wall components extracted by pyridine from PAII (PA-PEII) had powerful antitumor effects, i.e., greater than 50% of mice given 1400-micrograms injections survived. The material contained in PA-PEII was further fractionated on the basis of its organic solubility in chloroform:methanol solvent. The water-soluble and solvent-insoluble fractions retained most of the antitumor effects of PA-PEII, while the water-insoluble and solvent-soluble fractions were only moderately effective, suggesting that the active moiety(ies) was associated with the nonlipid components of this fraction. Both residue fractions (PA-RI and PA-RII) were as effective on a per weight basis in controlling the growth of 10(5) tumor inoculum as were whole untreated cells. However, periodate oxidation of PA-RI resulted in complete loss of its antitumor effects. When surviving mice that had no evidence of tumor persistence following a tumor challenge (10(5) MOT cells) and i.p. treatment with PA were subsequently rechallenged with 10(4) tumor cells, survival was significantly prolonged, as compared to tumor-challenged (10(4) MOT) naive mice. In addition, 10 to 20% of these rechallenged mice had complete eradication of the tumor inoculum (no evidence of disease for greater than 120 days).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Histopathologic examination of the genital tract in rabbits treated once or twice with a slow-release deslorelin implant for reversible suppression of ovarian function.

A total of 13 rabbits were treated with a subcutaneous deslorelin long-term release implant (4.7 mg) to study the effect on ovarian function and histologic features of the uterus. Seven rabbits (group 1) were implanted with a slow-release deslorelin implant before onset of puberty for 273 days as a part of a previous study. After resumption of ovarian function had been confirmed, they were implanted again at the age of 430 days. Six adult rabbits (>177 days old; group 2) were implanted with a slow-release deslorelin implant for 273 days. Ovarian function before, during, and after treatment with the implant was assessed by measuring serum progesterone levels 10 days after a challenge injection of a short-acting GnRH (0.8 µg buserelin intramuscularly) on progesterone levels in peripheral blood. Values more than 4 ng/mL progesterone were considered to verify ovarian function. Animals in group 1 underwent ovariohysterectomy during the second treatment with the implant and the uteri, and ovaries were subjected to histopathologic examination. Endometrial hyperplasia and endometritis were observed in 5 of 7 animals. Nonatretic and atretic follicles at different developmental stages, but no active corpora lutea, were present in the ovaries. Ovariohysterectomy of group 2 animals was performed 2 to 12 months after implant removal. The histopathologic examination of the uterus and ovary of four animals neutered during induced pseudopregnancy showed no signs of uterine disorders. In two animals undergoing ovariohysterectomy 12 months after implant removal, endometritis was present. Their ovaries contained follicles at different developmental stages and corpora albicantia. Reversible suppression of ovarian function can be achieved in female rabbits by the use of GnRH slow-release implants administered before or after puberty. The findings of endometrial hyperplasia and endometritis in seven out of 13 rabbits treated once or twice with the implant may indicate that the development of age-related pathologies of the uterus cannot be prevented by the suppression of ovarian function with a long-acting GnRH implant.

Second-look laparotomy in stage III epithelial ovarian cancer: clinical variables associated with disease status.

Variables associated with a negative second-look laparotomy in patients with stage III epithelial ovarian carcinoma are analyzed. Fifty-six patients were clinically free of disease after systemic chemotherapy and were subjected to second-look laparotomy to assess tumor status. Eighteen of these patients (32.1%) had no evidence of malignancy. Eight (14.3%) additional patients with no gross evidence of disease at laparotomy had microscopic persistence; five of these had disease documented in the pelvic or para-aortic lymph nodes. Significant variables associated with a histologically and cytologically negative second-look operation were low tumor grade (P less than .01), the use of cis-platinum containing combination chemotherapy (P less than .01), patient age less than or equal to 50 years (P less than .02), small residual tumor (less than 0.5 cm) before chemotherapy (P less than .05), and metastatic tumor less than or equal to 10 cm before initial cytoreduction (P less than .05). Patients treated with six to nine cycles of combination chemotherapy had the same probability of a negative second-look laparotomy as those treated with ten to 12 cycles. Multivariate discriminate analysis indicated that patients with low tumor grade, those receiving cis-platinum containing combination chemotherapy, and those with minimal residual tumors (less than 0.5 cm) after primary cytoreductive surgery correctly classify second-look status in 78.6% of patients. Until a nonsurgical method of monitoring subclinical disease is available, a through second-look laparotomy, including a pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy, should be performed.

Clinical aspects of multinodular pulmonary fibrosis in two warmblood horses.

Two warmblood horses with a history of chronic weight loss and inappetence were referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, for further examination. The clinical signs in horse 1 were fever, tachycardia and tachypnoea, and chronic ulcerative keratopathy of both eyes. Horse 2 had severe oral ulcerations and was coughing during feeding. In both horses, increased bronchovesicular sounds were heard during auscultation of the lungs. Laboratory findings included mild anaemia, lymphopenia and hypoalbuminaemia. Radiographic examination of the thorax revealed a severe nodular interstitial pattern. Multiple nodular lesions on the surface of the lung were observed by ultrasonographic examination. Light microscopy of lung biopsy specimens obtained from horse 1 revealed a severe chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia. Both horses were eventually euthanased because of a poor prognosis. Postmortem examination confirmed severe multinodular fibrosing interstitial pneumonia in both horses, and lung tissue yielded positive results for equine herpesvirus type 5 DNA using PCR assay. On the basis of the clinical, radiographic and pathological findings, as well as the PCR results, the diagnosis of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis was established.

Disorders of sex development in the dog-Adoption of a new nomenclature and reclassification of reported cases.

Intersexuality is a rare congenital abnormality in domestic animals. It is reported in numerous species including the swine, goat, horse, cat, and dog. The present work provides an overview of the variety of intersexual conditions known in different dog breeds. Each case was reclassified based on the described gonadal constitution, reproductive tract abnormalities and karyogram, and categorised according to the stages normal sex development is undergoing resulting in three main categories: (1) sex chromosome disorders, (2) disorders of gonadal sex development, and (3) disorders of phenotypic sex development. Reclassification disclosed that the current classification scheme and terminology are inconsistently used in literature masking the real occurrence and frequency of various intersex conditions in dogs. For establishment of an individual, precise and definite diagnosis, introduction of a new nomenclature is proposed as recently recommended for humans. The new terminology is based on the gonosomal constellation and gonadal constitution, contributes to a systematic classification of canine intersex cases, and replaces the common but confusing diagnoses "true hermaphrodite" and "pseudohermaphrodite". The literature survey was supplemented by adding the results from own investigations in a German Pinscher and Berger Picard dog with bilateral ovotestes and ambiguous external genitalia. The diagnostic approach and clinical, pathomorphological and cytogenetic findings were described in detail.

Uterine disorders in 59 rabbits.

The medical records of 59 rabbits with uterine disorders were assessed retrospectively. Ten animals were presented because of vaginal discharge; the reasons for presentation of the remaining 49 rabbits included mammary masses, skin tumours, anorexia and poor general health. All the rabbits underwent a clinical examination, and 54 were examined by ultrasonography and/or radiography. Forty-five rabbits underwent ovariohysterectomy and the other 14 rabbits were euthanased, three because of pulmonary metastases and 11 because of very poor health unrelated to their uterine disease. The genital tracts of all the rabbits were submitted for histological examination. Endometrial hyperplasia (in 24 rabbits) and adenocarcinoma (in 18 rabbits) were the most common uterine disorders; in a further 11 cases both conditions were observed. The remaining six rabbits had other uterine disorders. Four rabbits that were presented with adenocarcinoma of the mammary gland were found to have concurrent uterine disorders. The mean age of the rabbits with endometrial hyperplasia was 4.5 years, and that of the rabbits with adenocarcinoma was 6.1 years. Four rabbits had ovarian tumours.