Multiple Myeloma in a Dog

Background: The multiple myeloma is a neoplasia characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of plasma cells (plasmacytes) in the bone marrow and in other tissues. The infiltration of the neoplasia cells associated to the high level of anomalous immunoglobulin production (M protein) results in a variety of clinic-pathologic anomalies. It is a rare disease in dogs, corresponding to 0.3% of all malignant neoplasia and 2% of the hematopoietic, with few literature descriptions. So, the present paper aims at properly report a multiple myeloma in a dog of non-defined breed, emphasizing the clinic, laboratorial, radiographic and pathologic aspects.Case: In a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, an 11-year-old dog of non-defined breed was admitted, weighing 10.8 kg of body mass. The clinic history was claudication of the right thoracic member, hyporexia and lethargy in the past 20 days. The main abnormalities in the physical examination were holosystolic cardiac murmur III/VI on mitral focus, and high sensibility to touch in the right humerus. Laboratory tests showed pancytopenia, serum hypercalcemia and Bence-Jones proteinuria. Radiographic examination confirmed polyostotic punctate osteolysis on the right humerus; pelvic, femurs and vertebrae bones from L2 to L7, on generalized condition. Cytology by aspiration puncture from the left femur marrow bone did not confirm neoplasia cells. The clinic condition of the referred animal was progressively getting worse and euthanasia was performed. At the dog’s necropsy it was spotted tumor infiltrations on the femur, the humerus and the vertebrae canal. Histopathological exam of the bone marrow revealed diffuse occupation by distinguished plasmacytes, in some áreas reaching around 100% of cell population. Metastases on the primary tumor were found on the liver, kidney and spleen.Discussion: The diagnosis of multiple myeloma in this dog was confirmed by bone marrow histopathological exam. It is confirmed when there is more than 20% of plasmacytes in the examined structure. In this report, certain areas were spotted with 100% occupation of neoplasia cells. On the other hand, the first cytological assess did not reveal any abnormalities, suggesting that the place which received the puncture (aspiration) was not infiltrated by tumor cells. It is described that in the bone marrow may occur grouping of plasmacytes, as it was observed the animal’s necropsy of this report. This aspect point out that the diagnosis cannot be discarded only with a negative cytological exam from the bone marrow; especially if there are clinic, laboratorial and radiographic signs compatible to the illness. The spotted clinic signs by this patient are frequent in dogs with multiple myeloma, as well as the laboratory results, except to the monoclonal gammopathy. Due to a no realization of electrophoresis, this abnormality cannot be confirmed. At the initial assessment of the disease, the radiographic exam is considered golden standard as it was observed in this dog. The radiographic abnormalities were determinant, once they conducted the diagnosis towards the suspected neoplasia. According to current diagnosis criteria, on this present case, the pancytopenia, serum hypercalcemia and Bence-Jones proteinuria also helped towards the suspicion of multiple myeloma. However, the evaluation of the bone marrow was decisive to the final diagnosis; and a special attention was given to puncture more than one place in the bone marrow, which improved/enhanced the diagnosis possibility in this patient.Keywords: plasma cells, bone marrow, pancytopenia, osteolysis, radiography

Morphological description of the collateral visceral branches from abdominal aorta of squirrel monkey

Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Belém, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Belém, PA, Brasil.O Saimiri sciureus é um primata não humano existente na região amazônica e não consta na lista de animais em perigo de extinção, de acordo com o IBAMA. Neste trabalho, sistematizou-se os ramos colaterais viscerais da aorta abdominal de seis animais sendo três machos e três fêmeas, os quais tiveram o sistema circulatório preenchido com látex Neoprene, adicionado de contraste radiográfico. O resultado observado foi que a aorta abdominal emitiu ventralmente, como ramo colateral visceral, a artéria celíaca, que se trifurcou nas artérias gástrica esquerda, hepática e lienal. Os ramos da artéria celíaca promovem a irrigação do estômago, duodeno, fígado, pâncreas e baço. A seguir, a aorta abdominal emitiu a artéria mesentérica cranial, de calibre maior que a artéria celíaca e justaposta caudalmente. A artéria mesentérica cranial emitiu ramos que vascularizaram a parte final do duodeno, pâncreas, jejuno, íleo, ceco, cólon maior e cólon menor. A aorta abdominal emitiu lateralmente as artérias renais direita e esquerda. A artéria adrenal esquerda surgiu como um ramo colateral direto da artéria celíaca e a artéria adrenal direita surgiu da artéria renal direita. A artéria mesentérica caudal foi emitida da superfície ventral da aorta abdominal, logo abaixo das artérias renais. Em L6, a aorta abdominal se bifurcou, dando origem às artérias ilíacas externas direita e esquerda e estas deram origem à artéria ilíaca interna e femoral direita e esquerda. As artérias testiculares ou ováricas tiveram origem na artéria ilíaca interna. A continuidade da aorta abdominal deu origem à artéria sacral mediana e a continuidade desta é chamada de artéria caudal mediana. O estudo da espécie em questão é de suma importância para gerar conhecimentos a respeito dos primatas não humanos existentes em nosso país. Dessa forma, pode-se dizer que o Saimiri sciureus é um importante modelo biológico para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas biomédicas

Autogenous Osteochondral Graft Associated with IGF-1 in Induced Articular Cartilage Lesion in Rabbits

Background: Articular cartilage has a limited capacity for regeneration and of the various treatments proposed, none have reached appropriate therapeutic effectiveness. This study aimed to evaluate autogenous osteochondral grafts in intact or macerated format, in association with or without insulin-like growth factor type-1 (IGF-1) in the repair of osteochondral defects induced in the femoral trochlear groove of rabbits.Materials, Methods & Results: Seventeen healthy White New Zealand rabbits were selected for this study. The rabbits were female, six months old, and had an average body weight of 4.5 kg. All 34 stifle joints were subjected to autogenous osteochondral grafting in the femoral trochlear groove. The joints were divided into four groups designated as intact osteochondral graft with IGF-1 (INT + IGF), intact osteochondral graft with physiological solution (INT + FIS), macerated osteochondral graft with IGF-1 (MAC + IGF), and macerated osteochondral graft with physiological solution (MAC + FIS). Serial evaluations were performed by orthopedic and radiographic examination. After 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively, the grafted area was subjected to macroscopic, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. Although no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in relation to clinical, macroscopic, histological, and immunohistochemical aspects, a tendency of IGF-1 to promote tissue repair was evident. In the radiographic evaluation, the articular surface and the recipient site in both groups with IGF-1 showed significantly more effective filling (P ≤ 0.05). Regardless of the group, collagen type 2 production, as assessed by immunohistochemistry, was found to be appropriate on the grafted articular surface.Discussion: In extensive cartilage lesions, the use of intact osteochondral grafts may be infeasible due to donor site morbidity. An alternative is the use of macerated osteochondral grafts, which cover a larger area and act as a support and cellular source in the repair process. Growth factors have been evaluated in association with grafted tissues to aid tissue repair, and IGF-1 is currently prominent. In the radiographic analysis of the present study, when comparing sites subjected to osteochondral grafting, presence of the whole graft evidenced adequate local filling in all groups. However, graft integration was apparently rapid and effective in the INT + IGF and MAC + IGF groups from the sixth and ninth weeks of the procedure, respectively. In the macroscopic evaluation at the twelfth week, graft integration with the original cartilaginous tissue was more evident, especially in both groups treated with IGF-1. It is likely that the property of IGF-1 to increase chondrogenesis in the cartilage repair of articular lesions in vivo may have contributed to these results in radiographic and macroscopic examinations. Histological examination showed no significant difference between groups in the same period of time; however, it was observed that addition of IGF-1 promoted a more evident tissue reaction and cellular activation, potentiating the process of reabsorption and repair in the grafted tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis showed similar immunoreactivity for collagen type 2 in all groups as early as the sixth week. However, a small portion of these tissues cannot be considered true hyaline cartilage due to the absence of some typical features. In summary, addition of IGF-1 to the autogenous osteochondral graft seemed to stimulate reabsorption and replacement processes in the grafted tissue. The grafts showed adequate ability to repair articular cartilage, displaying formation of collagen type 2 similar to that in the original tissue

Evolution of Protocols to Induce Lactation of Dairy Cows: A Review / Evolução dos Protocolos para Indução da Lactação em Vacas Leiteiras: Revisão Bibliográfica

Several diseases and nutritional challenges have had detrimental impacts on dairy farming, of which reproductive problems are considered one of the main hindrances in all production systems. Alternatives to minimize these problems have been explored, and methods of artificial induction of lactation are amongst them. After decades of evolution, the current protocols have been shown to be more efficient and less laborious, which has increased its use. However, there is still limited information and many conflicting theories. Therefore, new research and experiments on the subject are extremely important, especially regarding the dose used in the protocols and animal welfare implications. This review takes a detailed overview of the protocols and other important aspects of lactation induction in dairy cows

Multiple Myeloma in a Dog

Background: The multiple myeloma is a neoplasia characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of plasma cells (plasmacytes) in the bone marrow and in other tissues. The infiltration of the neoplasia cells associated to the high level of anomalous immunoglobulin production (M protein) results in a variety of clinic-pathologic anomalies. It is a rare disease in dogs, corresponding to 0.3% of all malignant neoplasia and 2% of the hematopoietic, with few literature descriptions. So, the present paper aims at properly report a multiple myeloma in a dog of non-defined breed, emphasizing the clinic, laboratorial, radiographic and pathologic aspects.Case: In a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, an 11-year-old dog of non-defined breed was admitted, weighing 10.8 kg of body mass. The clinic history was claudication of the right thoracic member, hyporexia and lethargy in the past 20 days. The main abnormalities in the physical examination were holosystolic cardiac murmur III/VI on mitral focus, and high sensibility to touch in the right humerus. Laboratory tests showed pancytopenia, serum hypercalcemia and Bence-Jones proteinuria. Radiographic examination confirmed polyostotic punctate osteolysis on the right humerus; pelvic, femurs and vertebrae bones from L2 to L7, on generalized condition. Cytology by aspiration puncture from the left femur marrow bone did not confirm neoplasia cells. The clinic condition of the referred animal was progressively getting worse and euthanasia was performed. At the dog’s necropsy it was spotted tumor infiltrations on the femur, the humerus and the vertebrae canal. Histopathological exam of the bone marrow revealed diffuse occupation by distinguished plasmacytes, in some áreas reaching around 100% of cell population. Metastases on the primary tumor were found on the liver, kidney and spleen.Discussion: The diagnosis of multiple myeloma in this dog was confirmed by bone marrow histopathological exam. It is confirmed when there is more than 20% of plasmacytes in the examined structure. In this report, certain areas were spotted with 100% occupation of neoplasia cells. On the other hand, the first cytological assess did not reveal any abnormalities, suggesting that the place which received the puncture (aspiration) was not infiltrated by tumor cells. It is described that in the bone marrow may occur grouping of plasmacytes, as it was observed the animal’s necropsy of this report. This aspect point out that the diagnosis cannot be discarded only with a negative cytological exam from the bone marrow; especially if there are clinic, laboratorial and radiographic signs compatible to the illness. The spotted clinic signs by this patient are frequent in dogs with multiple myeloma, as well as the laboratory results, except to the monoclonal gammopathy. Due to a no realization of electrophoresis, this abnormality cannot be confirmed. At the initial assessment of the disease, the radiographic exam is considered golden standard as it was observed in this dog. The radiographic abnormalities were determinant, once they conducted the diagnosis towards the suspected neoplasia. According to current diagnosis criteria, on this present case, the pancytopenia, serum hypercalcemia and Bence-Jones proteinuria also helped towards the suspicion of multiple myeloma. However, the evaluation of the bone marrow was decisive to the final diagnosis; and a special attention was given to puncture more than one place in the bone marrow, which improved/enhanced the diagnosis possibility in this patient.Keywords: plasma cells, bone marrow, pancytopenia, osteolysis, radiography

Gross morphology and morphometry of squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus Linnaeus, 1758) female genital organs

Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Belém, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia. Belém, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Sergipe. Aracajú, SE, Brasil.Descrevem-se macroscopicamente o aparelho urogenital em quatro animais da espécie Saimiri sciureus, jovens, nascidos em cativeiro junto ao Centro Nacional de Primatas. A vulva delimitou-se pelos lábios vulvares, apresentando um clitóris bem desenvolvido com aspecto fálico. O vestíbulo vaginal é bastante curto, com espessa parede muscular, estendendo-se da rima da vulva até o óstio da vagina. A vagina vem logo na sequência do vestíbulo, sendo constituída por um tubo muscular com aspecto alongado e achatado dorsoventralmente, com paredes finas, estando disposta entre o vestíbulo vaginal e a cérvix, sendo esta última relativamente curta, porém, com musculatura bem desenvolvida. O útero é simples, com fundo globoso, estando localizado na porção caudal da cavidade abdominal. As tubas uterinas mostraram-se longas e retilíneas, ligando-se aos ovários, que são grandes e elipsóides, com superfície lisa

Autogenous Osteochondral Graft Associated with IGF-1 in Induced Articular Cartilage Lesion in Rabbits

Background: Articular cartilage has a limited capacity for regeneration and of the various treatments proposed, none have reached appropriate therapeutic effectiveness. This study aimed to evaluate autogenous osteochondral grafts in intact or macerated format, in association with or without insulin-like growth factor type-1 (IGF-1) in the repair of osteochondral defects induced in the femoral trochlear groove of rabbits.Materials, Methods & Results: Seventeen healthy White New Zealand rabbits were selected for this study. The rabbits were female, six months old, and had an average body weight of 4.5 kg. All 34 stifle joints were subjected to autogenous osteochondral grafting in the femoral trochlear groove. The joints were divided into four groups designated as intact osteochondral graft with IGF-1 (INT + IGF), intact osteochondral graft with physiological solution (INT + FIS), macerated osteochondral graft with IGF-1 (MAC + IGF), and macerated osteochondral graft with physiological solution (MAC + FIS). Serial evaluations were performed by orthopedic and radiographic examination. After 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively, the grafted area was subjected to macroscopic, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. Although no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in relation to clinical, macroscopic, histological, and immunohistochemical aspects, a tendency of IGF-1 to promote tissue repair was evident. In the radiographic evaluation, the articular surface and the recipient site in both groups with IGF-1 showed significantly more effective filling (P ≤ 0.05). Regardless of the group, collagen type 2 production, as assessed by immunohistochemistry, was found to be appropriate on the grafted articular surface.Discussion: In extensive cartilage lesions, the use of intact osteochondral grafts may be infeasible due to donor site morbidity. An alternative is the use of macerated osteochondral grafts, which cover a larger area and act as a support and cellular source in the repair process. Growth factors have been evaluated in association with grafted tissues to aid tissue repair, and IGF-1 is currently prominent. In the radiographic analysis of the present study, when comparing sites subjected to osteochondral grafting, presence of the whole graft evidenced adequate local filling in all groups. However, graft integration was apparently rapid and effective in the INT + IGF and MAC + IGF groups from the sixth and ninth weeks of the procedure, respectively. In the macroscopic evaluation at the twelfth week, graft integration with the original cartilaginous tissue was more evident, especially in both groups treated with IGF-1. It is likely that the property of IGF-1 to increase chondrogenesis in the cartilage repair of articular lesions in vivo may have contributed to these results in radiographic and macroscopic examinations. Histological examination showed no significant difference between groups in the same period of time; however, it was observed that addition of IGF-1 promoted a more evident tissue reaction and cellular activation, potentiating the process of reabsorption and repair in the grafted tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis showed similar immunoreactivity for collagen type 2 in all groups as early as the sixth week. However, a small portion of these tissues cannot be considered true hyaline cartilage due to the absence of some typical features. In summary, addition of IGF-1 to the autogenous osteochondral graft seemed to stimulate reabsorption and replacement processes in the grafted tissue. The grafts showed adequate ability to repair articular cartilage, displaying formation of collagen type 2 similar to that in the original tissue

Piotórax crônico em cão por vagem de Acácia Imperial (Cassia fistula)

Background: Pyothorax is characterized by the accumulation of septic purulent fluid within the pleural space. Most of the times, it is the true identified infection way in only 2 to 22% of dog cases. Reports show that the most common cause is the migration of grass edges and plant materials, mainly in regions of California, USA. The current study reports an unusual case of a Cassia fistula pod (Brazilian Acácia Imperial), of around 10x3 cm long, causing chronic Pyothorax in a Border Collie female dog.Case: It was admitted in a Teaching Veterinary Hospital a 2-year-old female Border Collie, weighing 16.5 kg. The complaint was producing of severe cough, dyspnoea, hyporexia and loss of weight in the past three months. The animal could have been horse-kicked, as it is used to herding. In the physical examination, it was detected bilateral thick lung crepitations, more evident in the ventral skull area, dyspnoea, tachypnea, fever, splenomegaly and low body condition score (3/9). The laboratory tests revealed nonregenerative anemia and leukemoid reaction. The chest x-ray showed intense pulmonary opacification and free fluids in the pleural space along with a heterogenic cylindrical image of the mixed radiopacity. This image was then confirmed as the intrathoracic foreing body by the use of a computerized tomography. In this exam it was also possible to observe the damage of part of the middle and inferior right lung lobe. The cytology of the pleural effusion found mixed inflammation and coccoid bacteria, and the microbiological culture Streptococcus sp., and Escherichia coli. The dog underwent thoracotomy in order to remove the foreign body, which was later identified as being a Cassia fistula pod (Brazilian Acácia Imperial), of around 10x3 cm long. Due to the intense lung damage, a right pneumonectomy was required. After 30 days the animal was fully recovered.Discussion: The applied surgical procedure ended up being the most correct, due to the shape and place of the foreign body, and also due to the massive damage of the lobes on the right lung. In dogs, right pneumonectomy may cause respiratory acidosis and exercise intolerance, besides it can also show signs of hyperinflation in some pulmonary spots. However, such abnormalities were not perceived by the patient. There are a few reports concerning the right pneumonectomy applicability on veterinary routine, nevertheless, it is a perfect practicable intervention from the clinic-surgical perspective, according to this case’s reports. Initially, the possibility of a foreign body was not expected, once the history of a plausible trauma, caused by horse-kick, associated to the presence of thoracic effusion, influenced only to the Pyothorax’s etiology. But the continuity of the clinic condition and the cylindrical image in subsequent x-rays favored the suspect of an foreign body, which could be confirmed in the computerized tomography. However, the way the pod got into the animal’s thorax, adhering to the lung parenchyma, remained undetermined. Besides, there were not found clinic descriptions relating the Cassia fistula pod (Brazilian Acácia Imperial) as an etiological agent of intra-thoracic foreign body in dogs, making this report an unusual clinic case. The computerized tomography was primordial to the definite diagnostic and for choosing the type of surgical procedure to be applied. The right pneumonectomy associated to the removal of the foreign body promoted the success of the treatment without further post-operatory complications

Ultrastructural aspects of lingual papillae in squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)

Federal Rural University of Amazonia. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Institute of Animal Health and Production. Belem, PA, Brazil.University of São Paulo. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. Department of Surgery. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.University of São Paulo. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. Department of Surgery. São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Federal Rural University of Amazonia. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Institute of Animal Health and Production. Belem, PA, Brazil.Federal Rural University of Amazonia. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Institute of Animal Health and Production. Belem, PA, Brazil.Federal University of Para. Institute of Biological Sciences. Belem, PA, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Centro Nacional de Primatas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Federal University of Sergipe. Center for Biological and Health Sciences. Department of Morphology. Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology. Aracaju, SE, Brazil.Federal Rural University of Amazonia. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Institute of Animal Health and Production. Belem, PA, BrazilSaimiri sciureus is one of the smallest Cebidae native of Amazon region and also found at the biological reserve of northeast Atlantic forest. It is an omnivore animal, with diversified diet that directly influences the lingual mucosa, which includes certain types of papillae with different organization levels. The present study attempted to describe the morphological and ultrastructure aspects of the dorsal surface of the S. sciureus. Five tongues of de S. sciureus were analyzed from three males and two females who died from natural causes and were obtained from breeding colonies of CENP-Ananindeua-PA. Main macroscopic features were a general triangular shape with a craniocaudal elongation pointed apex. Tissue samples--apex, body, and root of tongue--were fixed in modified Karnovsky solution, following standard scanning protocol, mounted in stubs, coated by gold, and analyzed by Scanning Electron Macroscopy (SEM). Four types of papillae were described: filiform (along all tissue extension with 154 μm of diameter), fungiform (along all tissue extension with 272 μm of diameter), vallate [just three units in caudal (dorsal) portion with 830 μm of diameter] and foliate (one pair at caudolateral surface with ∼ 13 projections and 3000 μm in length). Data analysis indicates that the distribution and ultra structural morphology of the S. sciureus lingual papillae are some similar to other primates