Spontaneous Erythroid Leukemia in a 7-Week-Old Crl:CD (SD) Rat

A young male Crl:CD (SD) rat with erythroid leukemia that presented with emaciation, abdominal distension and a pale visible mucosal membrane was euthanized at 7 weeks of age. At necropsy, enlargement of liver, spleen and pancreatic lymph node was noted. Analysis of blood smear samples revealed many mono- or binucleated erythroblasts that had PAS-positive vacuoles in the cytoplasm. Histopathologically, neoplastic proliferation of atypical cells was observed in the hepatic sinusoids, splenic red pulp, bone marrow, pancreatic lymph node, kidney and lung. Neoplastic cells showed a round to spindle shape, and some neoplastic cells had deeply stained small nuclei and small cytoplasms and resembled erythroblasts. Immunohistochemically, many neoplastic cells were positive for hemoglobin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of erythroid leukemia in a rat of this age. The observed features were similar to those of pure erythroid leukemia in humans

Glaucoma in a New Zealand White Rabbit Fed High-cholesterol Diet

Goniodysgenesis, malformation of the filtration angle, was observed in a New Zealand white rabbit supplied with 100 g/day rabbit chow containing 0.2% cholesterol for 10 months. Histopathology revealed cupping of the optic disc, atrophy of the retina and hyalinization of the ciliary body in the bilateral eyeballs. These findings corresponded with histopathological features caused by glaucoma. On the basis of these findings, we diagnosed this lesion as glaucoma, and classified it as primary glaucoma because of the presence of developmental defects of the filtration angle. In this case, hypercholesterolemia-induced changes, such as aggregation of lipid-laden macrophages and cholesterin clefts in the sclera or choroid, might cause deterioration of the lesions in glaucoma

Percutaneous Cardiopulmonary Support System for the Treatment of Fulminant Myocarditis

We have developed a simple percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) system. The circuit of the system is set up and sterilized beforehand and can be used promptly in an emergency situation. We used the PCPS on three patients with fulminant myocarditis and treated them successfully. Case 1 was a 53-yr-old man and Case 2 was a 12-yr-old girl. They had failed to respond to treatment of their circulatory states with conventional therapy. Their circulatory states improved dramatically after application of PCPS with 2 L/min blood flow. They were weaned from PCPS after 107 and 227 hours use, respectively. Case 3 was a 37-yr-old woman who developed ventricular fibrillation which was resistant to drug therapy and cardioversion. After starting PCPSwith4 L/min blood flow, arrhythmia disappeared and her circulatory state improved. She was successfully weaned after 39-hour of PCPS. Patients with fulminant myocarditis fall into circulatory collapse which is resistant to conventional therapy, but there is a possibility that cardiac function will recover after the acute phase of myocarditis. Therefore, PCPS can be the only treatment of the circulatory collapse of fulminant myocarditis, which is refractory to conventional therapy