19-nortestosterone detection in canine plasma after intramuscular administration of 19-nortestosterone phenylpropionate.

A proven radioimmunoassay method for monitoring 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone) was combined with high pressure chromatographic fractionation on a microparticulate silica gel using 1,2 dichloroethane/ethanol as the mobile phase. Plasma levels of 19-nortestosterone were monitored for seven days after intramuscular administration of nandrolone phenylpropionate (1.5 mg kg-1) to a beagle and a German shepherd dog. After 24 hours the plasma level in both bitches was 20 ng ml-1 and reverted to baseline after the fourth day after injection. Nandrolone was shown to be the only detectable exogenous steroid present in the post injection plasmas and could be distinguished from any potential cross reacting metabolites. The radioimmunoassay method can therefore be applied to the evaluation of nandrolone in the management of canine chronic renal disease in the bitch.

Histological diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA in a wire-haired dachshund.

A four-year-old wire-haired dachshund developed progressive neurological signs of ataxia, intention tremor and finally dysuria. Two years later, histopathology showed that neurons throughout the brain and spinal cord were distended with lipopigment which was also present in macrophages. Ultrastructurally, the pigment in the neurons occurred predominantly as electron-dense membranous whorls and stacks. There were a few vacuolated macrophages in the meninges. Hepatocytes were highly vacuolated and electron microscopy suggested that they were empty membrane-bound vesicles. The disease was diagnosed as mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA because of its similarity to other biochemically confirmed cases in the same breed and in a New Zealand huntaway dog. Additional lesions included calcium oxalate uroliths, severe secondary calcification of tissues including the brain and storage deposits in some neurons, and lesions which may have been associated with high levels of the substrate, heparan sulphate.

Paralysis in hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) associated with demyelination.

Paraplegia affected 14 hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in a wildlife rescue hospital over a period of six months. Postmortem examination revealed demyelination in the brain and spinal cord and an inflammatory response in the meninges, choroid plexus and CNS. The peripheral nervous system was not affected. In the spleen, lungs and liver there was an accumulation of megakaryocytes and other evidence of extramedullary haemopoiesis, but there was no haematological evidence of anaemia. The pattern of disease incidence and the nature of the changes in the CNS suggest they were of viral origin, but no causal agent was isolated and the possibility of a neurotoxin cause cannot be ruled out.

Immunoglobulin metabolism in the neonatal foal.

The proteins IgG and IgG(T) are the predominant immunoglobulins in equine colostrum. Their distribution and catabolism were studied in the newborn foal using an isotopic tracer technique. More precise quantitation of the absorption of these immunoglobulins from colostrum is now possible.

Canine chronic renal disease: prevalence and types of glomerulonephritis in the dog.

In a prospective survey, one hundred and eleven dogs with canine chronic renal disease, presenting to 24 veterinary practices in East Anglia and the West Midlands (geographical area 8,600 square miles) were identified. More than 20 different breeds were represented. In 76 cases, clinical details, blood and urine biochemistry, serology and kidney tissue for light and electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry were obtained. Forty (52%) had glomerular (GN) and 36 (48%) non-glomerular (NGN) disease. Types of GN identified were (W.H.O. classification, number of cases in brackets): focal glomerulonephritis (gn) (5), diffuse mesangial proliferative gn (8), diffuse endocapillary proliferative gn (2), mesangiocapillary gn type I (8), diffuse crescentic gn (1), diffuse sclerosing gn (7), amyloid (6), unclassifiable gn (3). Eight dogs with GN and 13 with NGN had extra-renal lesions. In only one GN case (bacterial endocarditis) was the etiology clear. Proteinuria, but not age, breed, sex, serum creatinine or hematuria, discriminated between GN and NGN groups. This prospective survey identifies GN, with morphological types as found in humans, as a common cause of canine chronic renal disease.