Plasma concentration of transforming growth factor-beta1 and hepatic fibrosis in dogs.

Liver fibrosis is a morphologic alteration that accompanies chronic liver diseases. Apart from analysis of liver biopsy specimens, there has been no means of diagnosing and evaluating the course of liver fibrosis in the dog. Several plasma markers, including transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1), are used to indicate liver fibrosis in humans, but none has been validated for use in dogs.

Alopecia areata in a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

Background: A 14-year-old female rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) of Chinese origin has been suffering from alopecia universalis since childhood.

Methods: Recently, the health status of the animal was recorded comprehensively by detailed clinical examination including hematology and serology supplemented by histological and immunohistochemical investigations of skin biopsies and molecular biological techniques to clarify the causes of the persistent hair loss.

Results And Conclusions: The hairless gene (hr) nonsense mutation was ruled out by polymerase chain reaction and by sequencing of the corresponding gene.

[Epidermotropic lymphosarcoma (mycosis fungoides) in a dog].

The clinical findings in a 16-year-old dog with mycosis fungoides are described. The definitive diagnosis was based on the characteristic histopathological lesions in the skin and mucosal biopsies. An immunohistological examination using monoclonal antibodies directed against the Thy-1 antigen of canine peripheral T lymphocytes did not give any further evidence of the identity of the infiltrating lymphoid cells.