Ki-67 labeling in canine perianal glands neoplasms: a novel approach for immunohistological diagnostic and prognostic.

BACKGROUND: The antibody Ki-67 is a reliable and easy tool to accurately assess the growth fraction of neoplasms in humans and animals, and it has been used to predict the clinical outcome. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression pattern of Ki-67 in normal and neoplastic perianal glands of dogs to evaluate the possible use of this proliferation marker as an ancillary method of perianal tumor diagnosis. We studied 42 cases of perianal gland neoplasms including adenomas (n = 15), epitheliomas (n = 15), and carcinomas (n = 12). As controls, 13 tissue samples from normal perianal glands were used. A Ki-67 index was established by a computer-assisted image analysis and compared with manual counting. RESULTS: Out of the 42 cases of perianal gland neoplasms, 34 were from males and eight from females. Recurrence was reported in 14 cases, being higher (8/12) in carcinomas. Immunostaining for Ki-67 revealed that the carcinomas showed a higher proliferation rate (9.87%) compared to groups of epitheliomas (2.66%) and adenomas (0.36%). For adenomas and epitheliomas of the perianal glands the computer-assisted counting and the manual counting gave similar results; however, only the computer-assisted image analysis was efficient to predict the perianal gland carcinoma recurrence. CONCLUSION: Since there were significant differences in the number of Ki-67-positive nuclei, this marker proved to be effective in helping the classification of perianal gland neoplasms and to refine the diagnosis criteria, especially in those samples with high variation in morphology/area. Also, higher Ki-67 index is related to recurrence in cases of perianal gland carcinomas. Further, the computer-assisted image analysis proved to be a fast and reliable method to assess the Ki-67 index in perianal gland neoplasms.

Porencephaly and cortical dysplasia as cause of seizures in a dog.

BACKGROUND: Seizures are a common problem in small animal neurology and it may be related to underlying diseases. Porencephaly is an extremely rare disorder, and in Veterinary Medicine it affects more often ruminants, with only few reports in dogs. CASE PRESENTATION: A one-year-old intact male Shih-Tzu dog was referred to Veterinary University Hospital with history of abnormal gait and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Signs included hypermetria, abnormal nystagmus and increased myotatic reflexes. At necropsy, during the brain analysis, a cleft was observed in the left parietal and occipital lobes, creating a communication between the subarachnoid space and the left lateral ventricle, consistent with porencephaly; and also a focal atrophy of the caudal paravermal and vermal portions of the cerebellum. Furthermore, the histological examination showed cortical and cerebellar neuronal dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Reports of seizures due to porencephaly are rare in dogs. In this case, the dog presented a group of brain abnormalities which per se or in assemblage could result in seizure manifestation.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines predominate in the brains of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis: a natural model of neuroinflammation during systemic parasitic infection.

Visceral leishmaniasis is a multisystemic zoonotic disease that can manifest with several symptoms, including neurological disorders. To investigate the pathogenesis of brain alterations occurring during visceral leishmaniasis infection, the expression of the cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, IFN-γ, TGF-ß and TNF-α and their correlations with peripheral parasite load were evaluated in the brains of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum. IL-1ß, IFN-γ and TNF-α were noticeably up-regulated, and IL-10, TGF-ß and IL-12p40 were down-regulated in the brains of infected dogs. Expression levels did not correlate with parasite load suggestive that the brain alterations are due to the host's immune response regardless of the phase of the disease. These data indicate the presence of a pro-inflammatory status in the nervous milieu of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis especially because IL-1ß and TNF-α are considered key factors for the initiation, maintenance and persistence of inflammation.

Use of linseed oil to treat experimentally induced keratoconjunctivitis sicca in rabbits.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various linseed oil (LO) preparations (oral, topical, oral and topical combined) in treating experimentally induced keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) in rabbits. Twenty male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into four groups: group C (control), group OLO (oral LO), group TLO (topical LO), and group OTLO (oral and topical LO). The animals were evaluated weekly using Schirmer's tear test (STT), fluorescein test (FT), and Rose Bengal test (RBT) and were euthanized at the end of the experiment for histopathological analysis. FINDINGS: There were significant improvements in the parameters analyzed (STT, FT, and RBT) and in the histopathological finding in all of the groups using LO. CONCLUSIONS: The analyzed results demonstrate that LO, administered orally or topically, was effective in treating experimentally induced KCS in rabbits, although combined oral and topical LO did not show additional benefits greater than those with a single route of administration.