Clinical Pathology Review: Hepatic disease in a dog with Cholestasis and Normal Serum Enzyme Activity

Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and serum alkaline phospatase (SAP) activities are widely used to identify hepatic disease in the dog. To fully assess the type and degree of hepatic disease one must use a combination of liver function tests, biochemical tests, and liver biopsy

The New Admissions Process

The demand for admission to the professional colleges such as medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and law, plus the vocal concern of the alumni and professional associations, has caused the faculties and administrations to take a closer look at the selection process. Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine has just completed a thorough review and revision of the preprofessional requirements and selection process

An Esophageal Foreign Body in a Cat

On the evening of January 9, 1962, a young domestic feline was admitted to the Stange Memorial Clinic. The history offered was that the patient had been very irritable and had convulsed the previous evening. Prior to the sudden onset of symptoms the animal was apparently normal

Problem-Oriented Approach in Interpreting Clinical Pathology Laboratory Data

We have found that a problem-oriented approach is a valuable method of evaluating laboratory data. Such an approach minimizes the amount of significant data which is overlooked and maximizes the amount of useful information which can be derived from such data. This method also lends itself to incorporation into the problem-oriented record-keeping system

Hydrocarbons and Free Fatty Acids Associated with the Air/Water Interface, Sediments, and Beaches of the Timbalier Bay and Offshore Louisiana Area

Paper by J. L. Laseter and E. J. Lede

Clinical Pathology Review

On February 5, 1980, Andy, a 5-1/2 year old castrated male domestic cat, was anorexic, vomited once, and failed to groom himself. Body temperature, respiration, pulse, and color of mucous membrances were all normal. Palpation of the epigastric area elicited a pain reflex. The owner expressed concern that the cat was ill from having ingested 3 ounces of whole cream containing 0.5 ounces of Kahlua (a coffee flavored liquor) 48 hours earlier

The Estimation of GC Repeats in Promoter P1 of IGF-1 Gene and Their Influence on IGF-1 Plasma Levels in Stable Angina Patients

Increased plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) are observed in advanced arteriosclerosis, but the reasons for these elevated levels remain unknown. One possibility to explain them is variation in the sequences that control IGF-1 gene expression. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of molecular variants of the IGF-1 P1 promoter on IGF-1 serum levels and to determine the impact of IGF-1 levels on the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 101 consecutive patients undergoing routine angiography. Genomic DNA was isolated from the nucleated cells of the blood plasma as described (2). Based on the presence of conformational differences in the DNA strand and on the absence of single nucleotide polymorphisms, the DNA from 38 patients was further analyzed by the “allelic ladder” method to determine the number of repeated GC dinucleotides in the P1 promoter of the IGF-1 gene. In addition, we analyzed serum growth hormone levels in order to examine the effect on systemic IGF-1 synthesis. Results: Conformational differences in the P1 promoter of the IGF-1 gene were observed in 38 out of the 101 patients. Several genotypes, depending on the number of GC repeats, were observed (11/19,17/19,18/19,18/21,19/19,19/20,19/21). Interestingly, a family history of coronary artery disease was seen less often among individuals heterozygous for the GC repeats. A lower IGF-1 levels were seen in non-variant carriers (homozygous genotypes for 19 or 21 repeats of GC, or heterozygous genotype 19/21) when compared to the variant group (other heterozygous genotypes then 19/21) (181.6 ± 47.9 ng/mL vs. 227.7 ± 73.7, p = 0.026). A correlation between IGF-1, IGF-binding protein number 3, and growth hormone levels (p = ns) was not observed, and there were no significant differences in the growth hormone levels in the studied group of patients (p = ns)