Acquired pulmonary artery branch stenosis without main pulmonary artery involvement due to external compression by neoplasia has been described in human and veterinary medicine. Over time, this can result in right ventricular hypertension and right-sided heart failure. Endovascular stenting offers quick relief from signs, while the underlying cause is addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fibrocartilaginous embolic myelopathy (FCE) is a well-documented condition in dogs although rarely reported in chondrodystrophic breeds. Genetic associations have not been defined.
Objectives: Define the association of the chondrodystrophy-associated FGF4L2 retrogene with histopathologically confirmed cases of FCE.
Despite significant advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment, osteosarcoma (OSA), an aggressive primary bone tumor, has eluded attempts at improving patient survival for many decades. The difficulty in managing OSA lies in its extreme genetic complexity, drug resistance, and heterogeneity, making it improbable that a single-target treatment would be beneficial for the majority of affected individuals. Precision medicine seeks to fill this gap by addressing the intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity to improve patient outcome and survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalignant gliomas are associated with extremely poor clinical outcomes in both humans and dogs, and novel therapies are needed. Glioma-bearing canine patients may serve as promising preclinical models for human therapies, including complementary medicine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of mistletoe extract () alone and in combination with mebendazole in an in vitro model of canine high-grade astrocytoma using the cell line SDT-3G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTay-Sachs disease (TSD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by a deficiency of the enzyme β-N-acetylhexosaminidase A (HexA). TSD naturally occurs in Jacob sheep is the only experimental model of TSD. TSD in sheep recapitulates neurologic features similar to juvenile onset and late onset TSD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteosarcoma is one among the most common neoplasms in dogs. Current treatments show limited efficacy and fail to prevent metastasis. Conditionally replicative adenoviruses (CRAd) replicate exclusively in targeted tumor cells and release new virus particles to infect additional cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCerebral cortical size and organization are critical features of neurodevelopment and human evolution, for which genetic investigation in model organisms can provide insight into developmental mechanisms and the causes of cerebral malformations. However, some abnormalities in cerebral cortical proliferation and folding are challenging to study in laboratory mice due to the absence of gyri and sulci in rodents. We report an autosomal recessive allele in domestic cats associated with impaired cerebral cortical expansion and folding, giving rise to a smooth, lissencephalic brain, and that appears to be caused by homozygosity for a frameshift in PEA15 (phosphoprotein expressed in astrocytes-15).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the most common and deadly of primary brain tumors, malignant gliomas have earned their place within one of the most multifaceted and heavily-funded realms of medical research. Numerous avenues of pre-clinical investigation continue to provide valuable insight, but modeling the complex evolution and behavior of these tumors within a host under simulated circumstances may pose challenges to extrapolation of data. Remarkably, certain breeds of pet dogs spontaneously and sporadically develop high grade gliomas that follow similar incidence, treatment, and outcome patterns as their human glioma counterparts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Differentiating benign from canine malignant mammary tumors requires invasive surgical biopsy. Circulating microRNAs (miRNA) may represent promising minimally invasive cancer biomarkers in people and animals.
Objectives: To evaluate the serum mRNA profile between dogs with and without mammary carcinoma, and to determine if any of these markers have prognostic significance.
Extracting sufficient quantity and quality RNA from bone is essential for downstream application, such as transcriptomic sequencing, to evaluate gene expression. Isolation of RNA from bone presents a unique challenge owing to the hypocellular, brittle and mineralized matrix, which makes homogenizing the tissue difficult and provides little RNA to work with. Removal of contaminating tissue, such as bone marrow and connective tissue, is essential for isolating RNA that is unique to osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) may be useful therapeutically in conditions with poor blood supply, such as distal limb wounds in the horse. Encapsulation of ECFCs into injectable hydrogel microspheres may ensure cell survival and cell localization to improve neovascularization and healing. Autologous ECFCs were isolated from 6 horses, labeled with quantum nanodots (QD), and a subset were encapsulated in poly(ethylene) glycol fibrinogen microspheres (PEG-Fb MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGM1 gangliosidosis (GM1) is a fatal neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease that occurs most commonly in young children, with no effective treatment available. Long-term follow-up of GM1 cats treated by bilateral thalamic and deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapy has increased lifespan to 8 years of age, compared with an untreated lifespan of ~8 months. Due to risks associated with cerebellar injection in humans, the lateral ventricle was tested as a replacement route to deliver an AAVrh8 vector expressing feline β-galactosidase (β-gal), the defective enzyme in GM1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn adult bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) presented for nystagmus and an inability to fly. On physical examination, the eagle was open-mouth breathing and tachycardic at 200 beats per minute, had a wrinkled cere and sunken eyes, and was an estimated 10% dehydrated. Additionally, the eagle was extremely weak, with neurologic abnormalities including bilateral proprioceptive deficits, nystagmus, and no pupillary light reflex in the left eye.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA Staffordshire terrier presented for evaluation of a chronic, nonproductive cough that was unresponsive to antibiotic therapy. A large mass identified in the pulmonary hilum was most consistent with tracheobronchial lymphadenopathy on radiographic and computed tomography (CT) images. Bronchoscopy confirmed a mass compressing the dorsal portion of the intrathoracic trachea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanocytic neoplasms are common in dogs and frequently occur within the oral cavity or in haired skin. The behavior of melanocytic neoplasms is variable and depends on tumor location, size, and histopathologic features. This study compared cytopathology and histopathology of 32 lymph nodes from 27 dogs diagnosed with melanocytic neoplasms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn 8-year-old, female spayed Domestic Shorthair cat was presented to the Auburn University Emergency and Critical Care service for evaluation of pleural effusion and a suspected intrathoracic mass. Computed tomography was performed which confirmed the presence of a large intrathoracic mass, likely heart-based. Fine-needle aspirates were obtained and a cytologic diagnosis of a neuroendocrine tumor was made.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn 8-year-old neutered male Toy Poodle was presented with chronic, progressive tetraparesis, and possible seizures. Magnetic resonance images demonstrated an extensive, T1 and T2 hyperintense contrast enhancing mass in the cervical spinal cord. Three nodules were present on the surface of the thalamus, with enhancement most evident on delayed images.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 6-year-old male neutered Australian Shepherd dog was presented for evaluation of a subcutaneous mass on the plantar aspect of the proximal left metatarsus. Fine-needle aspirate smears contained numerous plump spindle cells and large multinucleated cells amongst a considerable amount of pink extracellular matrix. Histopathologic diagnosis of the tissue obtained during initial biopsy and eventual surgical cytoreduction of the mass was a benign giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath (GCTTS).
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