Clinical, Parasitological, and Serological Follow-Up of Dogs with Sarcoptic Mange Treated Orally with Lotilaner.

Canine sarcoptic mange is a highly pruritic and contagious skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis. This case series describes the clinical, parasitological, and serological follow-up of a cohort of eight adult Saint Bernard dogs with confirmed sarcoptic mange, treated orally with lotilaner. Dogs were evaluated initially and after 14 days and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 months for skin lesions, pruritus severity, presence of parasites, and Sarcoptes-IgG levels. A serological indoor allergy panel (IgE) was obtained for seven dogs at day 0 and repeated 12 months later in five dogs to assess potential cross-reactivity between S. scabiei and environmental allergens. Lotilaner was administered to each dog according to the manufacturer's instructions and was repeated after one and two months without any concurrent therapeutic measure or modification of the husbandry conditions. Pruritus ceased after two weeks. The cutaneous score was reduced by 47%, and skin scrapings were negative for all but three animals. All skin scrapings were negative after one month. Lesions were absent after two months. Serological levels decreased gradually, but more slowly than the skin lesions, and two dogs out of six remained positive in the absence of skin lesions or symptoms. All dogs initially tested positive for dust mites and/or storage mites. The IgE titres remained unchanged 12 months later in the five tested dogs. This case report demonstrates the efficacy of lotilaner on scabies in a cohort of infested dogs under natural conditions and the potential antigenic cross-reaction of S. scabiei with house dust and storage mites.

Intestinal alkaline phosphatase: regulation by a strain-specific factor in mouse milk.

Two inbred strains of mice show a threefold difference in duodenal phosphatase activity at 11 days of age. When half-litters of the two strains are interchanged between the two mothers on the day of birth, enzyme activity in young of the low-activity strain is unaffected at 11 days by the source of milk, but is significantly reduced in high-activity young nursed by a low-activity mother.

Inactive alkaline phosphatase in duodenum of nursling mouse: immunological evidence.

A preparation of duodenal alkaline phosphatase from 11-day-old mice contains an enzymatically inactive material that cross reacts with antiserum prepared against one isozyme of 20-day alkaline phosphatase. After precipitation of this material from solution, the antiserum cannot precipitate the 20-day enzyme

Goblet cells in embryonic intestine: accelerated differentiation in culture.

If duodenal tissue from 14-day chick embryos is cultured in chemically defined medium, more than twice as many goblet cells appear within 48 hours as in intact embryos during the same time. The increase in goblet cell number is further accelerated by 10(-9) molar thyroxine but is prevented by 10(-6) molar hydrocortisone. The results suggest that differentiation of intestinal epithelium is regulated in part by a circulating inhibitor.

Intestinal lactase activity in the suckling rat: influence of hypophysectomy and thyroidectomy.

Intestinal lactase activity, which is high in the infant rat intestine but falls to a low level by the end of the third week, fails to decline in animals hypophysectomized at the age of 6 days. Treating these animals with thyroxine lowers lactase activity to the control level at 24 days, but cortisone is only partly effective. Thyroidectomy at 6 days also results in persistence of high lactase activity; thyroxine again is more effective than cortisone in reducing activity. The thyroid gland appears to play a previously unsuspected role in intestinal maturation.

Thyroxine-stimulated synthesis of microvillus membrane glycoproteins during culture of chick embryonic duodenum.

The effect of thyroxine on biosynthesis of microvillus membrane glycoproteins has been investigated in organ culture of 18-day-old chick embryonic duodenum. Explants incorporate [3H]leucine and [3H]glucosamine continuously, and overall incorporation is enhanced by 10 nM thyroxine during 48 h of labeling; this increase in radioactivity is associated with vesicles released from the microvilli. Light microscope autoradiography, pulse labeling of brush border fragments, and pulse chase experiments reveal that [3H]glucosamine is incorporated into brush border at an increasing rate during culture, and that newly synthesized glycoproteins are discharged into the medium along with brush border enzymes (alkaline phosphatase and maltase). These results suggest that thyroxine stimulates biosynthesis of microvillus membrane glycoproteins, in addition to stimulating vesiculation of the membrane. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 3H-labeled vesicles and brush border fragments show that [3H]leucine and [3H]glucosamine are incorporated into proteins of high molecular weight. Two protein bands are identified as alkaline phosphatase and maltase. Thyroxine stimulates glycosylation of these enzymes, but does not change protein patterns. Radioactivity assay of alkaline phosphatase- and maltase-active gel slices suggests that thyroxine stimulation of these enzyme activities during culture is not correlated with de novo synthesis of these proteins.

Microvillous membrane vesicle accumulation in media during culture of intestine of chick embryo.

Explanting chick embryo duodenal tissue elicits an increase in the activities of alkaline phosphatase and maltase, an effect which is greatly enhanced by the addition of thyroxine. A large part of the elevated enzyme activity is released into the culture medium, from which it can be sedimented by centrifugation at 200 000 X g. The resulting pellet contains 87% or more of the alkaline phosphatase and maltase activity present in the medium at the end of 72 h of culture, but only about 25% of the protein. Negative staining of the pellet reveals the presence of microvesicles, the surfaces of which bear tiny protrusions resembling the knobs that have been seen on isolated microvilli and in preparations of purified microvillous membrane. The microvesicles appear to be derived from fragmentation of microvilli. Microvesicles with similar properties can be washed out of the duodenal lumen of embryos near hatching, suggesting that vesiculation may be a normal process that plays a useful role in intestinal function.

Development of intestinal brush border membrane proteins in the rat.

1. The proteins of the intestinal microvillus membrane have been studied during post-natal development in the rat (days 12--37). 2. In suckling animals (up to age 20 days), the majority of alkaline phosphatase, glucoamylase and lactase activities in the distal half of the intestine were located in the supernatant fraction (100000 X g, 60 min). These enzymes were attached to the membrane from the proximal intestine at all ages. 3. Alkaline phosphatase, maltase and lactase activities in the supernatant fractions chromatographed in Sephadex G-200 in positions similar to the corresponding membrane enzyme. Corresponding activities for lysosomal counter-parts of maltase and lactase present in the supernatant fraction chromatographed differently. Moreover, pH optimum of the soluble enzymes was 9.2 for phosphatase and 5.5--6.0 for glycoamylase and lactase. The soluble lactase and alkaline phosphatase were inhibited minimally by p-chloromercuribenzoate, and sodium fluoride respectively. L-Phenylalanine (20 mM) did inhibit the soluble phosphatase by 90%. Thus, the soluble enzymes are not mainly of the lysosomal origin, but have characteristics of membrane-bound enzymes. 4. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed 18 protein bands which were present in adult membranes. Two other proteins were unique for membranes of distal intestine in suckling rats. The proteins corresponding to known enzyme activity changed as expected with age (e.g. sucrase, maltase increased, lactase decreased). Most of the other proteins were also altered in amount during development. Thus, the changes in the microvillus membrane during development in the rat are not limited to specific enzymes.

18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography as a new approach to detect lymphomatous bone marrow.

PURPOSE: Bone marrow involvement in patients with malignant lymphoma is considered a sign of generalized disease with less favorable prognosis. Bone marrow biopsy (BMB), which represents the standard diagnostic procedure, however, is associated with a high rate of false-negative findings, which may lead to errors in management. The present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of positron emission tomography (PET) with 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) as a new method to evaluate bone marrow involvement in patients with malignant lymphoma. METHODS: Seventy-eight consecutive, untreated patients with either non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; n = 39) or Hodgkin's disease (HD; n = 39) were prospectively evaluated. Static FDG-PET imaging was performed following application of 270 MBq (F-18)-FDG. Attenuation correction was performed in 63 of 78 patients. Visual evaluation was performed by two examiners unaware of the clinical data. Material for BMB (70 bilateral, 8 unilateral) was obtained from the posterior iliac crest. Discordant results of PET and biopsy were settled, when possible, on the basis of further biopsy or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). RESULTS: In addition to seven concordant positive and 57 concordant negative findings, biopsy revealed another four cases with bone marrow involvement not detectable by FDG-PET analysis (+5.1%). On the contrary, PET showed bone marrow areas of intensive FDG uptake that suggested bone marrow lymphoma in 10 patients with negative biopsies (+12.8%). In eight patients, FDG-PET findings were confirmed by either histologic verification (n = 4), MRI (n = 2), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rearranged immunoglobulin H sequences (n = 1), or clinical presentation (n = 1). Two cases remained unresolved. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that FDG-PET has a high potential to detect bone marrow involvement in malignant lymphoma. Besides confirming lesions found at BMB, FDG-PET provided additional information, which, in eight of 78 patients (10.3%), led to an upgrade of the tumor stage.

FDG PET can replace bone scintigraphy in primary staging of malignant lymphoma.

UNLABELLED: Recent studies indicated that 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET may be more accurate than CT in staging nodal and extranodal malignant lymphoma. The objective of this study was to compare conventional bone scintigraphy as an established skeletal staging procedure with PET using FDG in the detection of osseous involvement in malignant lymphoma. METHODS: Whole-body PET-based staging studies of 56 consecutive patients with proven Hodgkin's disease (n = 34) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 22) were compared with the results of bone scintigraphy. Positive PET or bone scintigraphic findings were confirmed, if possible, by biopsy, MRI, CT or radiographic investigations. RESULTS: Of the 56 patients studied, 12 were found to have skeletal involvement on both studies (PET, 30 regions; bone scintigraphy, 20 regions). Findings were confirmed in all 12 patients. FDG PET detected an additional 12 involved regions in 5 patients. This was subsequently verified in 3 patients, although the other 2 cases remained unresolved. Conversely, bone scintigraphy revealed five abnormalities compatible with lymphoma in 5 patients. Three of these lesions were found to be erroneous; final evaluation of the remaining two findings was not possible. CONCLUSION: FDG PET is suitable for identifying osseous involvement in malignant lymphoma with a high positive predictive value and is thereby more sensitive and specific than bone scintigraphy.

Influence of thyroid-stimulating hormone levels on uptake of FDG in recurrent and metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

UNLABELLED: The objective of this prospective study was to determine the extent to which the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) influence the uptake of FDG by thyroid carcinoma tumors METHODS: Ten patients with follicular (n = 7) or papillary (n = 3) thyroid carcinoma underwent FDG PET during TSH suppression (<0.05 microU/mL) and TSH stimulation (>22 microU/mL) within an average interval of 42 d (range, 28-73 d). The findings were evaluated by visual criteria. In addition, a tumor-to-background ratio (TBR) was determined for 17 lesions that were visualized. RESULTS: In 15 of 17 lesions with positive FDG uptake, TSH stimulation was associated with an increase in the TBR from 3.85 +/- 2.53 (mean +/- SD) to 5.84 +/- 4.84, corresponding to an average increase of 63.1% (P < 0.001). Determination of absolute counting rates indicated that this increase was the result of a decrease in FDG metabolism in the background together with an increase in the tumor tissue. No relationship was found between the presence or absence of iodine storage capacity (5 versus 12/17 lesions) and increase in FDG accumulation. Seven of 10 patients had additional iodine-positive metastases that showed no accumulation of FDG. CONCLUSION: Most locally recurrent and metastatic follicular and papillary thyroid carcinomas exhibited a significant increase in FDG uptake on TSH stimulation. In 3 of 10 patients, TSH stimulation resulted in either detection of new lesions or classification of the FDG uptake pattern as typical for malignancy. These findings suggest that FDG uptake in recurrent and metastatic thyroid carcinoma depends on the TSH level. Therefore, we recommend that PET examinations be performed in patients with thyroid carcinoma under TSH stimulation and follow-up examinations be performed under identical TSH conditions to prevent erroneous interpretation.

Usefulness of FDG-PET in diagnosing primary lymphoma of the liver.

This case report shows for the first time the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in the diagnosis of primary non Hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver. Results of FDG-PET, which in contrast to other imaging techniques offers the advantage of screening the whole body, demonstrated a high glycolytic activity of a solitary mass in the liver with central necrosis (loss of glycolytic activity), but no spread of lymphoma to the body. These results were confirmed by ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and were biopsy proven. From our findings we conclude that in patients with liver masses with high uptake of FDG, lack of liver dysfunction and absence of signs indicating other malignancies, a primary lymphoma of the liver should be considered as a possible diagnosis.

Positron emission tomography for detection and staging of malignant lymphoma.

FDG-Positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is an imaging modality using the physiological tracer glucose [modified as 18-fluorine-2-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)], whose uptake and metabolism is increased in malignant cells. While exact tumor staging in lymphomatous diseases is the basis for choosing the appropriate treatment strategy, the detection of nodal and extranodal manifestations are a key prerequisite. This study demonstrates that FDG-PET is an efficient, non-invasive method for the staging of primary untreated Hodgkin's lymphoma (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Clinical PET scanning is very useful in staging lymphoma patients and is more accurate than computed tomography (CT) in detecting lesions.

The use of [18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography to differentiate between synovitis, loosening and infection of hip and knee prostheses.

Pain is a common unspecific symptom in orthopaedic prosthetics. The accurate differentiation between synovitis, loosening or infection is often difficult with conventional X-rays, arthrography or bone scintigraphy. Because of the high glucose uptake of inflammatory cells, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) is an appropriate tracer for the evaluation of suspected inflammation or infection. In this preliminary study we describe 18F-FDG PET findings in patients referred for evaluation of painful hip or knee prostheses. We studied 23 patients with 28 prostheses, 14 hip and 14 knee prostheses, who had a complete operative or clinical follow-up. 18F-FDG PET scans were obtained with an ECAT EXACT HR+ PET scanner. High glucose uptake in the bone prostheses interface was considered as positive for infection, an intermediate uptake as suspect for loosening, and uptake only in the synovia was considered as synovitis. The imaging results were compared with operative findings or clinical outcome. PET correctly identified three hip and one knee prostheses as infected, two hip and two knee prostheses as loosening, four hip and nine knee prostheses as synovitis, and two hip and one knee prostheses as unsuspected for loosening or infection. In three patients covered with an expander after explantation of an infected prosthesis PET revealed no further evidence of infection in concordance with the clinical follow-up. PET was false negative for loosening in one case. Our preliminary results suggest that FDG PET could be a useful tool for differentiating between infected and loose orthopaedic prostheses as well as for detecting only inflammatory tissue such as synovitis.