Bone marrow iron scoring in healthy and clinically ill dogs with and without evidence of iron-restricted erythropoiesis.

Background: There are few reports in dogs that have evaluated the utility of semi-quantitative scoring of bone marrow iron stores in conjunction with reticulocyte hemoglobin (CHr) to identify iron-restricted erythropoiesis due to absolute iron deficiency or iron sequestration.

Objectives: An established system for scoring iron stores in human bone marrow samples was applied to dogs. The objectives were to evaluate interobserver agreement (Κ ), determine marrow iron scores in dogs without detectable hematologic abnormalities, and assess combined interpretation of iron scores and CHr to evaluate for iron-restricted erythropoiesis.

Pharmacokinetics of Orally Administered Prednisolone in Alpacas.

This study aimed to determine the pharmacokinetics of prednisolone following intravenous and oral administration in healthy adult alpacas. Healthy adult alpacas were given prednisolone (IV, = 4), as well as orally (PO, = 6). Prednisolone was administered IV once (1 mg/kg).

American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology-Recommended Clinical Pathology Competencies for Graduating Veterinarians.

Given the move toward competency-based veterinary education and the subsequent reevaluation of veterinary curricula, there is a need for specialties to provide guidance to veterinary college administrators and educators on the core knowledge and skills pertaining to their specialty to ensure their inclusion in revised or redesigned curricula. The American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) Education Committee sought to create a list of competencies specific to clinical pathology expected of graduating veterinarians. The stimulus for this project was the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education Standards of Accreditation for Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, further driven by the 2018 publication of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges Competency-Based Veterinary Education Working Group framework.

Pharmacokinetics of zonisamide after oral single dosing and multiple-dose escalation administration in domestic chickens (Gallus gallus).

Background: There are few effective drugs for treatment of seizures in avian species.

Objectives: To investigate the pharmacokinetics and safety of zonisamide in chickens.

Methods: Phase 1: chickens (n = 4) received a single oral dose of zonisamide at 20 mg/kg.

Comparison of iron staining and scoring methods on canine bone marrow aspirates.

Background: Insufficient iron for erythropoiesis can occur in multiple conditions, including absolute iron deficiency, which is often caused by chronic external hemorrhage in dogs. Distinguishing this from other causes of iron-restricted erythropoiesis allows appropriate intervention. Decreased marrow iron assessed by Prussian blue staining is a method to diagnose absolute iron deficiency, but scoring systems for marrow iron are not validated in dogs.

Effects of different drying methods on smears of canine blood and effusion fluid.

Background: Glass slide preparations from a variety of specimens (blood, masses, effusions) are commonly made as part of the diagnostic work-up, however the effects of various drying methods in veterinary practice and diagnostic laboratory settings is not clear.

Objective: Compare the effects of four drying methods on results of microscopic examination of canine blood smears and direct smears of pleural or peritoneal effusion fluid.

Methods: Twelve canine blood samples (6 from healthy dogs, 6 from sick dogs) and 6 canine peritoneal or pleural effusion samples.

Persistent infection and pancytopenia associated with ferret systemic coronaviral disease in a domestic ferret.

Ferret systemic coronaviral disease (FSCD) is a well-established cause of mortality in domestic ferrets. We describe herein novel findings in a case of FSCD that was diagnosed and medically managed following virus detection by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of surgical biopsy samples. Hematologic changes in this ferret suggested spread of the virus to the bone marrow, which was confirmed by IHC staining of a postmortem sample.

Mycoplasma haemolamae and intestinal parasite relationships with erythrocyte variables in clinically healthy alpacas and llamas.

Background: Mycoplasma haemolamae (Mhl) and gastrointestinal nematodes can cause anemia in camelids. Control programs aim to suppress parasitism without promoting anthelminthic resistance, but few evidence-based guidelines define acceptable parasite loads in camelids.

Hypothesis/objectives: In clinically healthy nonanemic camelids, compare erythrocyte variables to Mhl real-time PCR status and to fecal egg count (FEC).

Sex-specific hepatic lipid and bile acid metabolism alterations in deficient mice following dietary challenge.

Defects in the Fanconi anemia (FA) DNA damage-response pathway result in genomic instability, developmental defects, hematopoietic failure, cancer predisposition, and metabolic disorders. The endogenous sources of damage contributing to FA phenotypes and the links between FA and metabolic disease remain poorly understood. Here, using mice lacking the gene, encoding a central FA pathway component, we investigated whether the FA pathway protects against metabolic challenges.

Administration of certain sedative drugs is associated with variation in sonographic and radiographic splenic size in healthy cats.

Ultrasonography and radiography are standard diagnostic tests for cats with suspected splenic disease, however published information on outside sources of variation are currently lacking. The purpose of this prospective, randomized, crossover group study was to evaluate effects of common sedative drugs on the sonographic and radiographic characteristics of the spleen in healthy cats. Fifteen healthy adult research cats were randomly assigned into one of three groups corresponding to different sequences of administration of five sedative drugs/drug combinations (acepromazine; butorphanol; dexmedetomidine; midazolam and butorphanol (MB); and dexmedetomidine, butorphanol, and ketamine (DBK)), administered at 1-week intervals.

Evaluation of automated erythrocyte methodology in new world camelids using the ADVIA 2120 hematology analyzer.

Background: Accurate erythrocyte measurements with ADVIA hematology analyzers require isovolumetric cell sphering in one reaction and hemolysis in another. However, camelid erythrocytes are resistant to sphering and osmotic lysis, and no published evaluation of ADVIA methods for camelids exists.

Objectives: The objectives were to demonstrate whether camelid erythrocytes sphere in the ADVIA red blood cell/platelet (RBC/PLT) reagent and lyse in the ADVIA cyanide HGB reagent, and to determine optimal ADVIA settings for camelids.

Hemophagocytosis and Histoplasma-like fungal infection in 32 cats.

Histoplasmosis is one of the most common systemic fungal diseases in cats from the United States. It commonly causes respiratory or disseminated disease and is often associated with one or more cytopenias. Here, we describe 32 cats in which a Histoplasma-like fungal infection was associated with concurrent hemophagia in at least one sample site, commonly spleen, bone marrow, liver, and/or lymph node.

Bone marrow cell composition and morphology in healthy juvenile female New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

OBJECTIVE To provide contemporary preliminary guidelines for the morphological evaluation of bone marrow in conjunction with CBC results for healthy juvenile (3- to 6-month-old) female New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). ANIMALS 22 female New Zealand White rabbits. PROCEDURES Each rabbit was sedated, and a blood sample (3 mL) was collected from an ear artery for a CBC, after which the rabbit was euthanized.

Retrospective study of reticulocyte indices as indicators of iron-restricted erythropoiesis in dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.

Iron-restricted erythropoiesis can occur as a result of an absolute deficiency of iron stores, inflammation-mediated iron sequestration, or functional iron deficiency (in which release of stored iron is slower than the iron uptake by erythroid precursors during intense erythropoiesis). Reticulocyte indices are used to identify iron-restricted erythropoiesis, with the reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) being the most commonly used index in human patients. Dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) may have iron-restricted erythropoiesis caused by inflammation-mediated iron sequestration and/or functional iron deficiency, which could contribute to anemia severity and blunt the regenerative response in some dogs.

The AhR agonist VAF347 augments retinoic acid-induced differentiation in leukemia cells.

In binary cell-fate decisions, driving one lineage and suppressing the other are conjoined. We have previously reported that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) promotes retinoic acid (RA)-induced granulocytic differentiation of lineage bipotent HL-60 myeloblastic leukemia cells. VAF347, an AhR agonist, impairs the development of CD14(+)CD11b(+) monocytes from granulo-monocytic (GM) stage precursors.

Humoral and cell-mediated immune response, and growth factor synthesis after direct intraarticular injection of rAAV2-IGF-I and rAAV5-IGF-I in the equine middle carpal joint.

Intraarticular (IA) administration of viral vectors expressing a therapeutic transgene is an attractive treatment modality for osteoarthritis (OA) as the joint can be treated as a contained unit. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in vivo can limit vector effectiveness. Transduction of articular tissues has been investigated; however, the immune response to IA vectors remains largely unknown.

Alkaline phosphatase is a useful cytochemical marker for the diagnosis of acute myelomonocytic and monocytic leukemia in the dog.

Background: Immunophenotyping has replaced cytochemical staining as the preferred technique for classifying acute leukemia. However, some acute myeloid leukemias (AML) lack lineage-associated markers. In our experience, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is expressed in immature canine monocytes.

The utility of reticulocyte indices in distinguishing iron deficiency anemia from anemia of inflammatory disease, portosystemic shunting, and breed-associated microcytosis in dogs.

Background: Indices of reticulocyte cell size and hemoglobin content show promise for diagnosing iron deficiency (FeDef), but have not been evaluated in other causes of canine anemia or microcytosis.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to establish reference intervals (RI) for reticulocyte indices in dogs, and to compare results from dogs with FeDef anemia to dogs with 3 conditions that may mimic FeDef on hematologic and biochemical testing, including anemia of inflammatory disease (AID), portosystemic shunting (PSS), or breed-associated microcytosis (BAM).

Methods: Reticulocyte indices were measured using the ADVIA 2120.

In vivo confocal microscopy of corneal microscopic foreign bodies in horses.

Objective: To describe in vivo corneal confocal microscopy of horses with microscopic corneal foreign bodies and to correlate findings with clinical, cytological, and histopathologic evaluations of clinical cases and foreign body morphologies observed in vitro with the confocal microscope.

Animal Studied: Five horses with microscopic corneal foreign bodies.

Procedures: Sedated and anesthetized horses were examined with a modified Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II and Rostock Cornea Module.

Chinese Box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) with lymphoid leukemia characterized by immunohistochemical and cytochemical phenotyping.

Lymphoid leukemia of T-cell origin was diagnosed in a male Chinese Box turtle, Cuora flavomarginata, of approximately 25 years of age. The turtle presented with a history of anorexia, open-mouth breathing, and lethargy for one week. The CBC findings included a mildly increased PCV, and severe leukocytosis due to high numbers of atypical cells interpreted to be blasts.

Aberrant overexpression of IL-15 initiates large granular lymphocyte leukemia through chromosomal instability and DNA hypermethylation.

How inflammation causes cancer is unclear. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine elevated in human large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia. Mice overexpressing IL-15 develop LGL leukemia.

Anticoagulant-dependent in vitro hemagglutination in a cat.

A 17-year-old domestic shorthaired cat was presented to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for recheck of hyperthyroidism previously treated with radioiodine. Marked agglutination was noted in a blood sample collected into EDTA for a CBC; no other clinical or hematologic evidence of hemolysis was observed and none developed despite persistent agglutination in additional EDTA samples collected over a 2-month period. Blood drawn into heparin and sodium citrate tubes did not have grossly or microscopically detectable agglutination, unless EDTA was added.

Measurement of serum IgG in foals by radial immunodiffusion and automated turbidimetric immunoassay.

Hypogammaglobulinemia as a result of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) is an important risk factor for infectious disease in neonatal foals. The current gold standard for determining serum immunoglobulin concentrations is radial immunodiffusion (RID). The purpose of this study was to compare immunoglobulin concentrations measured by RID with those determined by an automated turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA), which has a much shorter turnaround time.