Feline dysautonomia: an ultrastructural study of neurones in the XII nucleus.

A feline dysautonomia of unknown aetiology has been reported in numerous cats in the United Kingdom since 1981. The consistent histological lesion is a chromatolytic-type change within the neurones of the autonomic nervous system, which is also found less frequently in non-autonomic regions, such as the XII nucleus. This study describes the ultrastructural changes in the XII nucleus within the first 2 weeks of clinical disease.

Linkage studies of HLA and rheumatoid arthritis in multicase families.

The linkage of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to the HLA-DR locus was investigated in 17 families with multiple cases of RA. Log odds scores were computed using the Liped program; sibship associations were examined by 2 methods. The results showed a trend toward linkage which was short of significance.

Lack of effect of total body irradiation in rheumatoid arthritis.

We are reporting a pilot study of total body irradiation in six patients with progressive rheumatoid arthritis, who had previously received gold and penicillamine. Radiation (150 cGy) was administered in ten fractions over 5 weeks. There was a transient pancytopenia following radiotherapy and the total peripheral lymphocyte count remained below pre-treatment levels after 6 months.

Prevalence of parasite eggs and cysts in faeces from dairy cows in Colombia.

When 1,711 bovine faecal samples from 113 farms in eight dairy areas of Colombia were examined for the presence of helminth eggs Fasciola hepatica eggs were found in the faeces from 60% of the farms and samples from animals kept above 2,000 m. Strongyle eggs were found in faeces from 82% of the farms and in 18% of the samples.

Rheumatoid factor tests in the diagnosis and prediction of rheumatoid arthritis.

Four assays of rheumatoid factor (RF) have been measured on serum from 213 individuals from 13 families containing at least two sufferers from classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Families were not uniformly RF positive or negative, and there was no evidence that non-RA RF positivity was inherited. Four individuals developed definite RA over a two year period, showing that the family members were at increased risk of RA.

Progressive axonopathy: an inherited neuropathy of boxer dogs. Quantitative and morphometric analysis of the peripheral nerve lesion.

Previous studies have described and illustrated the lesions in the peripheral nerves in progressive axonopathy, an inherited neuropathy of Boxer dogs. The present paper assesses these changes using quantitative techniques. Cervical and lumbar nerve roots and tibial, phrenic and medial cutaneous radial nerves have been studied in affected and age-matched normal dogs aged 2 months to 3 years.

HLA associations are with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been studied in 17 multicase families from the North East of England. The families comprised 281 individuals, 51 of whom had classical or definite RA, 18 had probable RA, and six were classified as previous RA. The association of classical and definite RA with HLA-DR4 was confirmed, and homozygosity for DR4 was more strongly associated than heterozygosity.

Limitation of joint mobility and shoulder capsulitis in insulin- and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Limited joint mobility and shoulder capsulitis were evaluated in 109 consecutive diabetic patients attending an out-patient diabetic clinic. Forty-nine had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and 60 had non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Seventy-five normal subjects were also examined.

Occurrence of autoimmune diseases and autoantibodies in multicase rheumatoid arthritis families.

The presence of autoimmune diseases and autoantibodies has been studied in 237 individuals from 17 families with two or more members affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Hyperthyroidism occurred significantly more frequently than in a local control population (p less than 0.05), but if the RA cases were excluded this significance was lost.

Progressive axonopathy: an inherited neuropathy of boxer dogs. 3. The peripheral axon lesion with special reference to the nerve roots.

Progressive axonopathy is an autosomal recessive inherited neuropathy of Boxer dogs with lesions in the CNS and PNS. This paper describes the axonal changes in the lumbar and cervical nerve roots and tibial nerve. By 2 months of age the proximal paranodal areas of many larger diameter fibres show small axonal swellings, sometimes with attenuation or loss of the associated myelin sheath.

Progressive axonopathy: an inherited neuropathy of boxer dogs. 2. The nature and distribution of the pathological changes.

This report describes the neuropathology of progressive axonopathy (PA), an autosomal recessive inherited neuropathy of Boxer dogs, which affects CNS and PNS. The nerve roots contain numerous myelin bubbles and proximal paranodal axonal swellings containing vesicles, vesiculo-tubular profiles and disorganized neurofilaments. The myelin sheath overlying such swellings is often attenuated.

Application of Bayes' theorem to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis from radioisotope bone scans.

The ratio of the uptake of radioactivity in each sacroiliac joint to the uptake in the sacrum has been measured in 57 patients with early ankylosing spondylitis and in 51 control subjects. The distribution of ratios of uptake obtained in each of these two groups shows appreciable overlap, and it is shown that the specification of a 'normal range' in this sort of situation can be misleading in the interpretation of the uptake ratio obtained in a given subject. An alternative approach described here is to use Bayes' theorem, which combines a probability based on the numerical value of the measured ratio with the pretest clinical impression about the likelihood of ankylosing spondylitis to yield a post-test probability of the presence of the disease.

Association of MHC antigens with susceptibility to and severity of rheumatoid arthritis in multicase families.

A study of HLA association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in multicase families has been performed in north east England. Two hundred and nineteen individuals from 13 families were assessed for the presence of RA, and all were HLA typed. Thirty-nine were found to have classical or definite RA by American Rheumatism Association (ARA) criteria.

Feline dysautonomia (the Key-Gaskell syndrome): an ultra structural study of autonomic ganglia and nerves.

Recently a feline dysautonomia of unknown aetiology, the Key-Gaskell syndrome, has caused widespread morbidity in the UK. This report describes the ultrastructural appearances of the autonomic ganglia and axons of the sympathetic chain in this condition. Nuclei of affected neurones were eccentric and abnormally crenated.

Levels of some reproductive diseases in the dairy cattle of Colombia.

Of 4,144 serum samples collected from cows on 113 farms from eight areas of Colombia 3.3% had positive and 8.8% inconclusive titres to Brucella abortus, 21.

Pyogenic osteomyelitis presenting as an acute sterile arthropathy.

We report two cases of osteomyelitis secondary to staphylococcal septicaemia, presenting with large sterile effusions in adjacent joints. In both cases the clinical features were suggestive of septic arthritis. Multiple joints were involved in each patient.

Haematuria in rheumatoid arthritis: an association with mesangial glomerulonephritis.

Twenty-four patients with rheumatoid arthritis and isolated haematuria were investigated for the cause of their haematuria. In 3 patients local urological disorders were identified, including a pelvicaliceal carcinoma. Renal biopsies were performed on the remaining 21 patients, and the most common abnormality found was a mild mesangial glomerulonephritis (71%).

'Shaking pups': a disorder of central myelination in the spaniel dog. IV. Freeze-fracture electron microscopic studies of axons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the spinal cord white matter.

Large axons identified in freeze-fracture replicas of the spinal cord white matter of 'shaking pups' were encircled by spiral processes at the paranodes that appeared to arise from oligodendrocytes. In the axolemma adjacent to some of these processes there were paranode-like intramembranous specializations and node-like accumulations of E-face particles; in other instances, no special contacts formed between axons and the spiral processes. The outer surfaces of the spiral processes, which often apposed astrocytes, frequently contained gap junctions.

'Shaking pups': a disorder of central myelination in the spaniel dog. III. Quantitative aspects of glia and myelin in the spinal cord and optic nerve.

Quantification of glial cells, axonal size and myelin thickness and volume were carried out in selected areas of the three funiculi of the cervical spinal cord and the optic nerve of 'shaking pups' and normal littermates at 4 and 8 weeks of age. There was a marked reduction of oligodendrocytes in the affected pups with many of these cells having distended rough endoplasmic reticulum. Oligodendrocyte death was not noticeable.

Familial cerebellar ataxia with hydrocephalus in bull mastiffs.

A family of bull mastiff pups in which 16 animals developed certain neurological signs is described. It is probable that the disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Clinical and pathological examination of six animals revealed ataxia, behavioural abnormalities and a visual defect associated with symmetrical lesions in the cerebellar nuclei, lateral vestibular nucleus and inferior colliculus together with a communicating hydrocephalus.