Behavioural Signs and Neurological Disorders in Dogs and Cats

The boundary between neurological and behavioural disorders often is not clear, and they often coexist. As a matter of fact, many neurological conditions lead to behavioural changes, which can be the only sign and the first sign complained by the owners. Sometimes it is not possible to reach a diagnosis based only on neurology or on behavioural medicine. Finally, some behavioural problems can facilitate the onset or worsening of neurological conditions. A synergy between neurology and behavioural medicine would be beneficial for both of them, in the diagnostic procedure and in the treatment. Veterinarians of such disciplines should collaborate as much as possible

Canine Cerebral Intravascular Lymphoma: Neuropathological and Immunohistochemical Findings

Intravascular lymphoma (IVL) is a rare angiotropic large-cell lymphoma in which neoplastic lymphocytes proliferate within the lumina of small blood vessels in the absence of a primary extravascular mass or leukemia. This study included 10 cases of canine IVL restricted to the CNS. Dogs had an average age of 8 years and neurological signs mainly referred to brain involvement such as depression, seizures, and ambulatory deficits. Gross examination at necropsy showed focal extensive or multiple hemorrhagic areas mainly distributed in the telencephalon and diencephalon. Histopathologically, numerous veins and capillaries were filled with neoplastic lymphoid cells, accompanied by edema, hemorrhage, and thrombosis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for CD3, CD20, and PAX5 was performed to phenotype the neoplastic lymphocytes. IHC for CD44 and CD29 were used to investigate the pathogenetic mechanism leading to the intravascular aggregation of the neoplastic lymphocytes. The same IHC panel was applied to 8 cases of primary and metastatic canine CNS lymphoma in order to compare IVL immunoreactivity. Three IVLs were typified as T-cell, 3 as B-cell, and 4 as non-T non-B. Neoplastic lymphocytes showed marked expression of CD44 in all IVL cases, and CD29-immunolabeled cells were observed in 4 IVLs. CD44 immunoreactivity was consistent with the findings reported in human IVL, suggesting a predisposition to the formation of lymphocyte aggregates. CD29 was inconsistently immunonegative in canine IVL, confirming only partially the pathogenetic mechanism suggested for the human counterpart

Pinch-induced behavioural inhibition (clipthesia) as a restraint method for cats during veterinary examinations: preliminary results on cat susceptibility and welfare.

Cats are often subjected to minimally painful or forced procedures during routine clinical practice, which can be poorly tolerated, leading veterinary surgeons to need to offer physical restraint, usually aided by an assistant. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and ultimate welfare implications of using clipthesia as a method of restraint during veterinary examination. This was carried out in a real clinical setting and compared to manual scruffing. Twenty-seven cats were restrained, during a veterinary examination, using two stationery clips placed on the skin along the cervical dorsal midline, whilst a group of 13 cats were restrained through gentle manual scruffing. Susceptibility to clipthesia (ie a positive clip score) was observed in 81.5% of cats, while a complete response was found in 40.7% of subjects. The presence or absence of a disease/condition did not affect the susceptibility. Heart rate and the number of cats showing mydriasis (pupillary dilation) was statistically higher during manual scruffing, whilst plasma cortisol did not differ between the two groups. The more responsive the cats were to clipthesia, the more they displayed kneading and purring. These preliminary findings suggest that clipthesia is not more stressful than manual scruffing in restraining cats during a veterinary examination. However, not all cats were found to be susceptible to this method of restraint. Further research is needed to clarify whether clipthesia should be implementated as a matter of course in veterinary practice from the point of view of welfare and safety

Mice as paratenic hosts of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Several species of nematodes included in the superfamily Metastrongyloidea are recognized agents of parasitic infections in felines. Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is the most prevalent species affecting the respiratory system of domestic cats. The route of infection in cats is supposed to be through ingestion of gastropod intermediate or paratenic hosts. However, because gastropods are not the preferred preys of cats, rodents were suggested to play an important role as paratenic hosts in the biological cycle of A. abstrusus and in the epidemiology of aelurostrongylosis

Extradural Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumour at T7 Level in a 2-Year-Old Dog

The aim of this report is to describe an unusual localization of nerve sheath tumour (NST), clinical presentation, imaging, surgical management, and outcome in a 2-year- old dog. A 2-year-old female American Staffordshire Terrier presented with non- ambulatory paraparesis, thoracolumbar hyperaesthesia, hindlimb hyperreflexia, and mild muscle atrophy. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extradural mass at T7-T8, without vertebral lesions. Surgical treatment consisted in resection of the soft tissue mass through dorsal laminectomy. The dog was ambulatory within 24hours and free of recurrence at 18 months postoperatively. Histopathologic and features of immunohistochemistry were consistent with NST. The NST of this report was similar to those described before, but exhibited unusual characteristics, such as being extradural, without extension into intervertebral forami- na, and being located in an atypical region (T7-T8). Moreover, survival time and relapse- free interval are greater than previously reported for similar cases

Oral Mucosa and Nails in Genodermatoses: A Diagnostic Challenge

Genodermatoses represent a group of uncommon, hereditary, single-gene skin disorders, characterized by multisystem involvement, heterogeneous clinical manifestations and different degrees of morbidity and mortality. Some genodermatoses may have oral mucosa and nail involvement, since the oral cavity and cutaneous organ system, including nails, share a close embryologic origin. Nail disorders can manifest with nail hypoplasia or nail hypertrophy. Clinical pictures of affected oral mucosa can be extremely heterogeneous, ranging from asymptomatic papules to painful blisters, leukokeratosis, oral papillomas and fibromas to oral potentially malignant disorders and cancerous lesions. Oral mucosa and nails pathological features may occur synchronously or not and are usually associated with other systemic and skin manifestations. In some cases, oral mucosa and nails diseases may be distinct and constitute the principal sign of the genetic disorder, in other cases they represent only a part of the puzzle for the confirmation of the diagnosis. Continued awareness of the correlation between oral mucosa and nails findings can help physicians to diagnose genodermatosis in a timely manner, allowing more effective clinical management and prevention and/or early detection of complications. This article provides an overview of all specific genodermatoses affecting both oral mucosa and nails. Moreover, the correlation between teeth and nails is summarized in tabular form

Final results of project on feline spongiform encephalopathy

Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the accumulation of an abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrPsc) in the Central Nervous System. This research allowed to identify other neurological diseases affecting the Italian cat population

Degenerative Myelopathy in Hovawart Dogs: Molecular Characterization, Pathological Features and Accumulation of Mutant Superoxide Dismutase 1 Protein

Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is an adult-onset, progressive neurological disease affecting several breeds of dog. Homozygosity or compound heterozygosity for the canine superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene mutations, possibly modulated by the modifier SP110 locus, are associated with a high risk for DM. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms are largely unknown, a role for mutant SOD1 in causing neuronal degeneration has been postulated. Three Hovawart dogs, 9e12 years of age, developed slowly progressive incoordination and weakness of the pelvic limbs leading to non-ambulatory flaccid paraparesis and muscle atrophy. Neuropathological lesions comprised axonal degeneration and loss of ascending and descending spinal pathways, which were most severe in the mid- to caudal thoracic segments. Accumulation of mutant SOD1 protein in neurons and reactive astrocytes was demonstrated by immunolabelling with the 16G9 antibody against the mutant SOD1 protein (p.E40K amino acid substitution). All three dogs were homozygous for the c.118A allele, but none had the SP110 ‘risk’ haplotype, suggesting a weak association of SP110 with the onset of DM in this breed. Our data suggest that the Hovawart breed is predisposed to the SOD1:c.118G>A mutation, which is associated with the development of DM. Prevention of DM could be achieved with the help of strategies based on epidemiological and genetic testing

Evaluation of species-specific polyclonal antibodies to detect and differentiate between Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii

Neosporosis and toxoplasmosis are major causes of abortion in livestock worldwide, leading to substantial economic losses. Detection tools are fundamental to the diagnosis and management of those diseases. Current immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests, using sera raised against whole parasite lysates, have not been able to distinguish between Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. We used T. gondii and N. caninum recombinant proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using insoluble conditions, to produce specific polyclonal rabbit antisera. We aimed to develop species-specific sera that could be used in IHC on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections to improve the diagnosis of ruminant abortions caused by protozoa. Two polyclonal rabbit sera, raised against recombinant proteins, anti–Neospora-rNcSRS2 and anti–Toxoplasma-rTgSRS2, had specificity for the parasite they were raised against. We tested the specificity for each polyclonal serum using FFPE tissue sections known to be infected with T. gondii and N. caninum. The anti–Neospora-rNcSRS2 serum labeled specifically only N. caninum–infected tissue blocks, and the anti–Toxoplasma-rTgSRS2 serum was specific to only T. gondii–infected tissues. Moreover, tissues from 52 cattle and 19 sheep previously diagnosed by lesion profiles were tested using IHC with our polyclonal sera and PCR. The overall agreement between IHC and PCR was 90.1% for both polyclonal anti-rNcSRS2 and anti-rTgSRS2 sera. The polyclonal antisera were specific and allowed visual confirmation of protozoan parasites by IHC, but they were not as sensitive as PCR testing.</p