Vacuolar myopathy in a dog resembling human sporadic inclusion body myositis

Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most common myopathy in people over the age of 50 years. While immune-mediated inflammatory myopathies are well documented in dogs, sIBM has not been described. An 11-year-old dog with chronic and progressive neuromuscular dysfunction was evaluated for evidence of sIBM using current pathologic, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic diagnostic criteria. Vacuoles and congophilic intracellular inclusions were identified in cryostat sections of multiple muscle biopsies and immunostained with antibodies against amyloid-β peptide, amyloid-β precursor protein, and proteosome 20S of the ubiquitin–proteosome system. Cellular infiltration and increased expression of MHC Class I antigen were observed. Cytoplasmic filamentous inclusions, membranous structures, and myeloid bodies were identified ultrastructurally. These observations constitute the first evidence that both the inflammatory and degenerative features of human sIBM can occur in a non-human species

Some food toxic for pets

According to world statistics, dogs and cats are the species that owners most frequently seek assistance with potential poisonings, accounting 95–98% of all reported animal cases. Exposures occur more commonly in the summer and in December that is associated with the holiday season. The majority (>90%) of animal poisonings are accidental and acute in nature and occur near or at the animal owner's home. Feeding human foodstuff to pets may also prove dangerous for their health

Management of Canine Parvovirus Enteritis in Kenya

No Abstract.Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 14 1990: pp. 16-1

The Pathophysiology and Clinical Management of Degenerative Joint Disease

Degenerative joint disease is a common and important disease that affects humans as well as domestic animals, especially dogs and cats. The etiological factors for the disease in humans and animals are similar. The disease is characterized by progressive deterioration of the joint, thinning of hyaline cartilage, joint effusion and periarticular osteophyte formation. Trauma, sepsis, prolonged immobilization, immune-mediated disease, congenital malarticulation (e.g. hip dysplasia or developmental diseases (e.g. osteochondrosis), may incite the development of degenerative joint disease. The insults stimulate the release of degenerative enzymes from chondrocytes and these destroy the articular cartilage matrix. Two distinct functional processes in injured chondrocytes are responsible for the positive feed-back cascade that ultimately results in joint destruction. The catabolic process is induced by proinflammatory stimuli and causes secretion of protease inhibitors and cell replication. In the recent past, a lot of basic and clinical research on degenerative joint disease has been conducted. Deeper understanding of the pathophysiology has resulted in the development of new treatment modalities for the disease. Practicing clinicians need to keep abreast with new knowledge and biomedical technology in order to manage their patients in the best way possible. This paper collates the current knowledge of the pathophysiology and clinical management of degenerative joint disease with special reference to the canine patient. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 28 2005: pp. 33-3

Some Clinical Features of Osteoarthritis of the Hip Joint in Adult Dogs in Kenya

Clinical examination of forty German shepherd dogs with hindlimb lameness was conducted. The severity of lameness was classified as normal conformation, mild lameness or severe lameness attributable to the hindlimb and assigned numerical scores 1, 2 or 3 respectively. Thirty three percent (33 %) were clinically normal, 19 % had mild lameness while 48 % had severe and debilitating lameness. These observations were verified by radiographic examination of affected hip joints. Five dogs were severely affected with hindlimb lameness also had decubital wounds on the dorsal aspect of the paws of the hindlimb. Although some animals were clinically normal, ventrodorsal pelvic radiographs revealed severe osteoarthritis. Clinical and radiographic examination of adult dogs is useful in diagnosis of orthopaedic disease. This improves diagnostic accuracy and assists in determining the prognosis for appropriate medical or surgical therapy and advice on control breeding of affected dogs. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 29 2005: pp. 126-12

Innovative haematological parameters for early diagnosis of sepsis in adult patients admitted in intensive care unit

AIMS: This study was aimed to investigate the role of erythrocyte, platelet and reticulocyte (RET) parameters, measured by new haematological analyser Sysmex XN and C reactive protein (CRP), for early diagnosis of sepsis during intensive care unit (ICU) stay. METHODS: The study population consisted of 62 ICU patients, 21 of whom developed sepsis during ICU stay and 41 who did not. The performance for early diagnosing of sepsis was calculated as area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics curves analysis. RESULTS: Compared with CRP (AUC 0.81), immature platelet fraction (IPF) (AUC 0.82) showed comparable efficiency for identifying the onset of sepsis. The association with the risk of developing sepsis during ICU stay was also assessed. One day before the onset of sepsis, a decreased of RET% was significantly associated with the risk of developing sepsis (OR=0.35, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.87), whereas an increased of IPF absolute value (IPF#) was significantly associated with the risk of developing sepsis (OR=1.13, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.24) 2 days before the onset of sepsis. The value of CRP was not predictive of sepsis at either time points. CONCLUSIONS: IPF# and RET% may provide valuable clinical information for predicting the risk of developing sepsis, thus allowing early management of patients before the onset of clinically evident systemic infections

Growth-enhanced salmon modify stream ecosystem functioning

Use of fast-growing domesticated and/or genetically modified strains of fish isbecoming increasingly common in aquaculture, increasing the likelihood of deliberateor accidental introductions into the wild. To date, their ecological impacts on ecosys-tems remain to be quantified. Here, using a controlled phenotype manipulation byimplanting growth hormone in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), we found thatgrowth-enhanced fish display changes in several phenotypic traits known to beimportant for ecosystem functioning, such as habitat use, morphology and excretionrate. Furthermore, these phenotypic changes were associated with significantimpacts on the invertebrate community and key stream ecosystem functions such asprimary production and leaf-litter decomposition. These findings provide novel evi-dence that introductions of growth-enhanced fish into the wild can affect the func-tioning of natural ecosystems and represent a form of intraspecific invasion.Consequently, environmental impact assessments of growth-enhanced organismsneed to explicitly consider ecosystem-level effects