Meroanencephaly in an English Pointer Neonate

Background: Malformations are structural or functional abnormalities in the organs and structures present at birth. These conditions are rarely described in the newborns of dogs and can lead to their death. Meroanencephaly is a defect of the neural tube closure malformation. This study aims to characterize the clinical-pathological aspects of neonatal meroanencephaly since brain malformations are rare in newborn dogs.Case: A two-day-old English Pointer canine was sent for a necropsy. The newborn belonged to a litter of eight puppies, and only this one had macroscopic cranial alterations. Another puppy that died as a consequence of being trampled by the bitch was also necropsied. The newborn was alive for 48 h until death and presented apathy, crying, sucking reflex and opisthotonus. Macroscopic examination of the baby revealed flattening of the skull, with a slit at the site of bone symphysis fusion, and a slit in the skin of the parietal region, covered by thin, translucent meningeal tissue. The heads of the two animals were examined by radiography to identify the features of anencephaly in one of the animals by visualizing skull bone flattening. Upon removing the skin and exposing the cranial cavity, an irregular reddish mass was revealed, that corresponded microscopically to area cerebrovasculosa, composed of neurons, rudimentary glial tissue, vascular neoformations, as well as hemorrhagic areas.Discussion: Meroanencephaly is a type of anencephaly, a congenital malformation originating from abnormal neurulation, which results from the absence of neural fold fusion during neural tube formation. Live-born anencephalics have some brainstem-driven functions such as spontaneous breathing and some reflex responses, for instance, suction. Several genetic or teratogenic factors, such as viruses, radiation, drugs administered during pregnancy and other pathologies transmitted from bitch to fetus, can lead to this defect. The reports on anatomopathological findings and the presence of area cerebrovasculosa are rare

Anatomopathologic Study of Kidneys parasitized by Dioctophyme renale in Dogs

Background: Dioctophymiasis is a disease caused by the nematode Dioctophyme renale and is a relatively common condition in dogs. The parasite affects the kidney, especially the right, enters the kidney capsule and causes destruction and atrophy of the parenchyma. The lesion severity depends on the amount of parasites affecting the kidney, the duration of the infection, number of kidneys involved and concurrent occurrence of kidney disease. The disease’s clinical presentation may be asymptomatic or with nonspecific clinical signs. The diagnosis is based on ultrasound examination and the detection of eggs in urine, however, diagnosis is often reached only through necropsy or histopathology. This study aimed to analyze the dog kidney anatomical and pathological changes when parasitized by Dioctophyme renale.Materials, Methods & Results: The kidneys of 21 dogs diagnosed with dioctophymiasis were nephrectomized, analyzed by ultrasound and forwarded to macro and microscopic analysis. Macroscopically, the kidney size was measured as well as its renal capsule thicknes. The presences of dilatation of the renal pelvis and ureter, as well as changes of the capsule, were also observed. These fragments were collected and submitted for routine analysis and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Histopathological examination was performed blindly by three evaluators. The intensity of fibrosis was evaluated by the presence or absence of infiltration, the absence or presence of parasite eggs and when present whether there was inflammatory tissue response, among other changes. All received organs were right kidneys and showed clear atrophy or absence of the parenchyma. The kidney size ranged from 3,8x2,5x1,3 cm to 8,4x8,2x4,0 cm and the capsule thickness between 0.1 and 3.6cm. In renal capsule were observed whitish, irregular and firm plates (10 out of 21 cases) and papilliform projections (4 out of 21). In two specimens were identified cases of hydroureter and hydronephrosis. Microscopically, all specimens had some degree of fibrosis which replaced the renal parenchyma, six classified as mild, ten were moderate and five intense. In 13 cases there was intense deposition of parasite eggs and 18 cases showed inflammatory infiltrate of which one was pyogranulomatous and one granulomatous. Papilliform projections were observed in six out of 21 cases (composed of connective tissue proliferation and neovascularization), there was also hyperplasia of the pelvis transition epithelial (6 out of 21) and osseous metaplasia of the renal capsule (4 out of 21). The vessels walls were hypertrophic in nine out of 21 cases.Discussion: The diagnosis of dioctophymiasis was performed by ultrasonography. All 21 kidneys analyzed were rights; this is related to the parasite penetration in the duodenal wall, which tends to migrate by anatomic proximity to the right kidneys. Dioctophyme renale feeds through digestion and ingestion of the renal parenchyma by the action of parasite’s oesophageal enzymes causing progressive destruction of the cortical and medullar layers and consequently the proliferation of fibrous tissue. In this study, different intensities of fibrosis were observed. Bone metaplasia characterizes the chronicity of the process and the connective tissue’s attempt to adapt. Animals affected by dioctophymiasis often develop chronic renal failure. Chronic renal failure is characterized by continuous and irreversible morphologic changes in the renal parenchyma with loss of nephron components and the formation of a vicious cycle of replacement by fibrous connective tissue. The hypertrophy of vascular epithelium observed in six cases of this study may be associated with fibrous connective tissue proliferation stimulus. The injuries described here may be related to the parasitosis late diagnosis

Caracterização de quitosana em ácido pirolenhoso destilado com potencial uso como coberturas protetoras

Chitosan acid films can be used as coatings for vegetal tissues due to their antifungal and antimicrobial properties and, also, can act as an antiperspirant.Chitosan in pyroligneous distilled acid had been characterized comparatively to systems of this polymer in acetic acid 2 % (v/v). It was evaluated pH, conductivity, thermal behavior, molecular weight, gyration radio and second virial coefficient and rheological behavior. Auto supported films, obtained from chitosan in acetic acid, were evaluated with respect to the protection against the ultraviolet/visible radiation, resistance to water immersion, swelling degree and thermal degradation. The pyroligneous distilled acid is better solvent for this polymer comparatively to acetic acid solution. Chitosan, in both solvents, presented Newtonian behavior in the range of temperature from 10 to 40 °C at studied range of concentration and the system is thermally stable in the range of temperature from -40 to 60 °C. Films increased around 400 % of their weight, when immersed in water, being stable up to than seven days. Although a small loss of water under heating occurred, films are thermally stable up to 300 °C. The films block radiation efficiently UV-C (279-200 nm) and part of UV-B (319-280 nm), being able to be used as photo protectors. The molar absorptivity diminishes exponentially with the increasing of wavelength, these results show it is possible to obtain coating with different thicknesses to produce the desired protection against UV radiation. The films of chitosan in pyroligneous distillate acid will not be discussed in this paper.Filmes ácidos de quitosana podem ser usados como coberturas para tecidos vegetais devido as suas propriedades antifúngicas e antimicrobianas, podendo atuar também como anti-transpirante. Neste trabalho soluções de quitosana em ácido pirolenhoso destilado foram caracterizadas em solução comparativamente às soluções de quitosana em ácido acético a 2 % (v/v). Foram avaliados pH, condutividade, comportamento térmico, massa molar, raio de giro, segundo coeficiente virial e propriedades reológicas. Foram obtidos também filmes auto suportados de quitosana em ácido pirolenhoso destilado e em solução de ácido acético a 2 % (v/v) que foram avaliados em relação à proteção contra as radiações ultravioleta/visível, resistência à água, inchamento e degradação térmica. O ácido pirolenhoso destilado mostrou ser melhor solvente para este polímero comparativamente à solução de ácido acético. A quitosana, nos dois solventes estudados, apresentou comportamento newtoniano na faixa de temperatura de 10 a 40 °C na faixa de concentrações estudada e as soluções são termicamente estáveis na faixa de temperatura de -40 a 60 °C. Os filmes de quitosana em solução de ácido acético absorveram mais de 400 % de sua massa em água e são estáveis sob imersão por mais de sete dias. Apesar de uma pequena perda de água sob aquecimento, os filmes são termicamente estáveis até 300 °C e bloqueiam a radiação UV-B (319-280 nm) e UV-C (279-200 nm), podendo ser usados como fotoprotetores. A absortividade molar diminui exponencialmente com o comprimento de onda, estes resultados permitem a formulação de filmes com diferentes espessuras de acordo com a proteção UV desejada. Os filmes de quitosana em ácido pirolenhoso destilado não serão discutidos neste trabalho

Distilled pyroligneous liquor obtained from Eucalyptus grandis and chitosan : physicochemical properties of the solution and films

The pyroligneous liquor is a product obtained during the production of charcoal, with well-known antimicrobial activity. In this work, we characterized the physical chemistry properties of a formulation composed of distilled pyroligneous liquor (DPL), obtained from Eucalyptus grandis, and chitosan. A good interaction between the polymer and the solvent was observed. Auto-supported films were prepared with these systems and characterized with respect to their structure and photo-protection properties, water vapor permeability, and resistance to water and to thermal degradation. They present a semi-crystalline structure and are hygroscopic, but are stable under immersion for up to 7 days. The swelling degree in water is 300% in weight and the permeability to water vapor was between 30 and 45 gm−1 h−1 (for films with 80 to 10 μm, respectively). The obtained films are able to efficiently block the incident UVB and UVC radiation; the molar absorptivity decreases exponentially with increasing wavelength and is stable up to 300 °C. These properties confer desirable properties to the films, obtained from these precursors of a renewable source, to be used as coatings

Distilled pyroligneous liquor obtained from Eucalyptus grandis and chitosan : physicochemical properties of the solution and films

The pyroligneous liquor is a product obtained during the production of charcoal, with well-known antimicrobial activity. In this work, we characterized the physical chemistry properties of a formulation composed of distilled pyroligneous liquor (DPL), obtained from Eucalyptus grandis, and chitosan. A good interaction between the polymer and the solvent was observed. Auto-supported films were prepared with these systems and characterized with respect to their structure and photo-protection properties, water vapor permeability, and resistance to water and to thermal degradation. They present a semi-crystalline structure and are hygroscopic, but are stable under immersion for up to 7 days. The swelling degree in water is 300% in weight and the permeability to water vapor was between 30 and 45 gm−1 h−1 (for films with 80 to 10 μm, respectively). The obtained films are able to efficiently block the incident UVB and UVC radiation; the molar absorptivity decreases exponentially with increasing wavelength and is stable up to 300 °C. These properties confer desirable properties to the films, obtained from these precursors of a renewable source, to be used as coatings

Anatomo-pathological and epidemiological analysis of urinary tract lesions in dogs

ABSTRACT: In dogs, diseases of the urinary tract are common and can be caused by disorders of varied etiology. The objective of this study was to classify qualitatively and quantitatively urinary tract lesions of 363 dogs, which were classified according to its anatomical distribution and etiology. The data was obtained from the revision of 36 years of protocols from the Regional Laboratory of Diagnosis (LRD/UFPel) and it represents 4.0% of diagnoses from a total of 8980 for that period and species. Renal injury accounted for 93.1% of cases, with 309 being primary kidney lesions; from which the main lesions were the tubulointerstitial nephritis (142 cases) often associated with Leptospirosis (47). Injuries of lower urinary tract accounted for 6.9% of the cases where acute cystitis stands out (19). In this study, renal failure, acute or chronic, represented an important cause of death in dogs