RESUMO
Although hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine disorder in elderly cats, systematic studies investigating the prevalence of thyroid lesions in feline animals are scarce. Our objective was to evaluate morphological changes in the thyroid glands of 61 cats submitted to necropsy without clinical suspicion of hyperthyroidism. Thirteen (13/61 [21.3%]) cats had thyroid enlargement and 54/61 (88.5%) had some histological thyroid changes. Proliferative lesions were histologically seen in 33/61 (54%) cats while non-proliferative lesions were observed in 48/61 (78.7%) cats. Thyroid hyperplasia (18/33 [54.5%]) and cystic adenoma (6/33 [18.2%]) were the most prevalent proliferative changes and lesions with little or no clinical significance (37/61 [60.6%]), degenerative (31/61 [50.8%]) and inflammatory changes (12/61 [19.7%]) were the most common non-proliferative changes. Among cats with proliferative lesions, 16/33 (48.4%) had a proliferation grade ≥A4, a grade previously associated with clinical hyperthyroidism. Although the cats from this study did not have any clinical diagnosis of thyroid disease, it is possible that one or more had some degree of clinically unnoticed thyroid dysfunction. The high prevalence of follicular lesions in this study highlights the importance of a more careful clinical and pathological investigation regarding thyroid diseases in mature and elderly cats.
RESUMO
Feline leishmanial infection is reported worldwide, but the epidemiological role of domestic cats in the leishmaniasis cycle remains unclear, and cats might act as cryptic reservoir hosts in endemic areas with no feline leishmaniosis cases. Considering that, a serological screening for anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies was performed by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) in 389 necropsied cats' serum samples from a new visceral leishmaniasis transmission area with no feline leishmanial infection reported to unveil if the cats are being exposed to the parasite. The overall seroprevalence for Leishmania spp. was 11.05% (43/389). No association was found between sex, neutering status, age group, breed, coat length, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, and Leishmania spp. antibody detection. A positive association was found with coat color (cats within the orange spectrum with white [particolor]) (OR = 2.47, CI 95% 1 - 6.13, P = 0.044) and a negative association (OR = 0.38, CI 95% 0.18 - 0.79, P = 0.01) between feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection and IFAT positivity for Leishmania spp. Therefore, it is concluded that the seroprevalence found was greater than 10%, indicating contact of the protozoan with cats in the region served.