Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging features of unilateral thalamic porencephaly in a dog.

A 1-year-3-month-old, female, neutered labrador retriever was presented with a history of circling behaviour since 2 months of age and a recently detected blindness affecting its right eye. Neurological examination revealed a left-sided head tilt, compulsive tight circling towards the left, postural reaction deficits in the right thoracic and pelvic limbs, absent menace response in the right eye and ventral positional strabismus of the left eye. The neurological examination findings were localised to the left thalamus. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head revealed porencephaly involving the left dorsal aspect of the thalamus. Furthermore, reduced volume of the left rostral colliculus, crus cerebri and optic chiasm, alongside marked thinning of the left cerebral hemispheric white matter tracts with associated left lateral ventriculomegaly, were present. Based on magnetic resonance imaging features and clinical history, a congenital or perinatal encephaloclastic porencephaly with secondary hypoplasia or atrophy of the associated thalamic projection pathways was prioritised.</p

Computed Tomography Osteodensitometry for Assessment of Bone Mineral Density of the Canine Head—Preliminary Results

Despite bone mineral density (BMD) being regularly measured in human patients, BMD studies in clinical cohorts of dogs is lacking. In order to facilitate BMD assessment and in turn better identify dogs suffering from metabolic bone disease, rapid, easy and precise computed tomography (qCT) techniques are required. In this study we aimed to assess the utility of quantitative computed tomography (qCT) bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of the canine calvarium using a semiautomated osteodensitometry software and define host factors associated with canine bone mineral density in a skeletally healthy population. Calvarial qCT at the level of the temporomandibular joints was performed on 323 dogs using a dedicated osteodensitometry calibration phantom during a clinically indicated head computed tomography (CT). Calvarial BMD was analyzed using a dedicated semiautomatic osteodensitometry software for contouring of the calvarial lamellar bone margins and BMD calculation. The mean duration of the calvarial qCT scanning was 64.6 s, and the mean duration of BMD analysis was 34 s, with a mean of two manual adjustments required for the bone margin tracing. The median BMD of all dogs in our study was 659 mg Calcium hydroxyapatite/mL. There was a negative linear correlation between BMD and body weight, but no correlation with age, sex or neutered status. Canine BMD assessment using qCT of the calvarium is a practical and fast technique that can be added to a clinical CT examination with minimal extra time requirements. Canine BMD host-dependent factors exhibit different relationships from that of humans; however, further investigation is warranted

Clinicopathological Findings, Treatment and Outcome in 60 cats with Feline Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Sclerosing Fibroplasia

Background – Feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia (FGESF) presents as mass(es) associated with the gastrointestinal tract, mesentery, and abdominal lymph nodes.Hypothesis/Objectives – To report the clinicopathological findings, treatment, and outcome of cats with FGESF.Animals – Sixty client-owned cats diagnosed with FGESF. Methods – Retrospective review of medical records of cats with histopathologically confirmed FGESF. Results – The median age was 5.4 years (interquartile range [IQR] 3.3-8.9.); 30% were Domestic Shorthairs and 12% were Domestic Longhair cats, with the most prevalent pedigree breeds being Ragdolls (25%), Exotic Shorthair (10%) and Persian (8%) cats. The median duration of clinical signs was 90 days (IQR 17.5-247.0); the most common clinical signs were weight loss (60%), hyporexia/anorexia (55%), chronic vomiting (37%), lethargy (35%) and chronic diarrhea (27%). Masses were located in the small intestine (32%), stomach (27%), ileocolic junction (15%), colon (10%), lymph node (8%) and mesentery (8%) and 15% of cats had more than one mass. Eosinophilia was present in 50% and hypoalbuminemia in 28% of cats. The mass was removed surgically in 37% of cases. Most cats (98%) were treated with corticosteroids and 1 cat with antibiotics alone. The survival was not statistically different between cats treated with surgical resection and cats treated with medical therapy alone, 88% of the cats still alive at the time of writing. Conclusions and clinical importance – FGESF is an important differential diagnosis for abdominal masses in cats, and has a much better prognosis than previously reported. <br/