Probable paraneoplastic leukocytosis in a dog with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

A 9-year-old female spayed Boston Terrier presented for diagnostic investigation of lethargy, poor appetite, weight loss, and a marked leukocytosis. Significant muscle wasting and a palpable abdominal mass were present on physical examination. Abdominal imaging revealed the mass to be of small intestinal origin; consequently, an intestinal resection and anastomosis were performed without complication.

Review of Medical Decision Support and Machine-Learning Methods.

Machine-learning methods can assist with the medical decision-making processes at the both the clinical and diagnostic levels. In this article, we first review historical milestones and specific applications of computer-based medical decision support tools in both veterinary and human medicine. Next, we take a mechanistic look at 3 archetypal learning algorithms-naive Bayes, decision trees, and neural network-commonly used to power these medical decision support tools.

Adrenocortical Challenge Response and Genomic Analyses in Scottish Terriers With Increased Alkaline Phosphate Activity.

Scottish terriers (ST) frequently have increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) of the steroid isoform. Many of these also have high serum concentrations of adrenal sex steroids. The study's objective was to determine the cause of increased sex steroids in ST with increased ALP.

Immunosignature Differentiation of Non-Infectious Meningoencephalomyelitis and Intracranial Neoplasia in Dogs.

A variety of inflammatory conditions of unknown cause (meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown etiology-MUE) and neoplastic diseases can affect the central nervous system (CNS) of dogs. MUE can mimic intracranial neoplasia both clinically, radiologically and even in some cases, histologically. Serum immunosignature protein microarray assays have been used in humans to identify CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's and neoplasia, and in dogs, to detect lymphoma and its progression.

Evaluation of supervised machine-learning algorithms to distinguish between inflammatory bowel disease and alimentary lymphoma in cats.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and alimentary lymphoma (ALA) are common gastrointestinal diseases in cats. The very similar clinical signs and histopathologic features of these diseases make the distinction between them diagnostically challenging. We tested the use of supervised machine-learning algorithms to differentiate between the 2 diseases using data generated from noninvasive diagnostic tests.

Optic nerve astrocytoma in a dog.

Intracranial astrocytomas are relatively uncommon in dogs and optic nerve astrocytomas even more so. This neoplasm should be considered as differential in canine patients with vision loss, retinal detachment, ocular mass, and histopathologic findings of infiltrative fusiform to polygonal glial cells possibly associated with glomeruloid vascular proliferation.

Evaluation of endothelin-1 and MMPs-2, -9, -14 in cerebrospinal fluid as indirect indicators of blood-brain barrier dysfunction in chronic canine hypothyroidism.

Chronic canine hypothyroidism is associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. We hypothesized that this change is mediated by endothelin-1(ET-1) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) -2, -9, and -14, as evidenced by increased concentrations of these proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compared to controls. CSF from 18 dogs, 9 controls and 9 with experimentally induced hypothyroidism was collected before and 6, 12, and 18 months after induction of hypothyroidism.

Frame-Based Stereotactic Biopsy of Canine Brain Masses: Technique and Clinical Results in 26 Cases.

This report describes the methodology, diagnostic yield, and adverse events (AE) associated with frame-based stereotactic brain biopsies (FBSB) obtained from 26 dogs with solitary forebrain lesions. Medical records were reviewed from dogs that underwent FBSB using two stereotactic headframes designed for use in small animals and compatible with computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Stereotactic plans were generated from MR and CT images using commercial software, and FBSB performed both with (14/26) and without intraoperative image guidance.

Leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I in a mixed-breed dog.

A 6-month-old, neutered male, mixed-breed dog was examined for a 2-month persistent fever, nonhealing dermal metacarpal area wound, and leukocytosis (47.0-198.0 × 10(3)/μl).

Survival time following hospital discharge in dogs with palliatively treated primary brain tumors.

Objective: To analyze survival time and identify prognostic factors associated with outcome following discharge in dogs with primary brain tumors treated palliatively.

Design: Prospective case series.

Animals: 51 dogs with 5 histopathologic types of brain tumors.

Isolation, mouse pathogenicity, and genotyping of Trypanosoma cruzi from an English Cocker Spaniel from Virginia, USA.

Trypanosoma cruzi was demonstrated in blood smears and heart tissue from a 5-year old, female, English Cocker Spaniel that had never been outside of the state of Virginia, USA. Plasma from the dog was positive in a commercially available immunochromatographic dipstick assay for T. cruzi and negative in an immunochromatographic dipstick assay for visceral Leishmania spp.

Role of TLRs in Brucella mediated murine DC activation in vitro and clearance of pulmonary infection in vivo.

Brucellosis is worldwide zoonoses affecting 500,000 people annually with no approved human vaccines available. Live attenuated Brucella abortus vaccine strain RB51 protects cattle through CD4 and CD8 T-cell mediated responses. However, limited information is known regarding how Brucella stimulate innate immunity.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 and -2 in normal and diseased canine eyes.

Objective:   To immunohistochemically evaluate expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR1) and -2 (VEGFR2) in ocular tissue of healthy dogs and dogs affected with primary glaucoma, uveitic glaucoma, and intraocular neoplasia.

Sample Population:   Enucleated globes from five dogs with primary glaucoma, five dogs with uveitic glaucoma, six dogs with intraocular neoplasms and three ophthalmically normal control dogs.

Procedure:   Ocular tissues were obtained from enucleated globes of clinical cases or immediately following euthanasia for control dogs.

Uses of informatics to solve real world problems in veterinary medicine.

Veterinary informatics is the science of structuring, analyzing, and leveraging information in an effort to advance animal health, disease surveillance, research, education, and business practices. Reference and terminology standards are core components of the informatics infrastructure. This paper focuses on three current activities that use reference standards in veterinary informatics: (1) the construction of a messaging standard in a national animal health laboratory network, (2) the creation of breed and species terminology lists for livestock disease surveillance, and (3) the development of a standardized diagnoses list for small animal practices.

Blood-brain-barrier disruption in chronic canine hypothyroidism.

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of hypothyroidism have been associated with cerebrovascular complications. Reports of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) abnormalities are rare in hypothyroid dogs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if chronic hypothyroidism causes blood-brain-barrier (BBB) abnormalities that are detectable using indirect CSF biomarkers.

Heat-killed and γ-irradiated Brucella strain RB51 stimulates enhanced dendritic cell activation, but not function compared with the virulent smooth strain 2308.

Brucella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens that cause abortion in livestock and undulant fever in humans worldwide. Brucella abortus strain 2308 is a pathogenic strain that affects cattle and humans.

Hyperphosphatasemia and concurrent adrenal gland dysfunction in apparently healthy Scottish Terriers.

Objective: To determine causes of hyperphosphatasemia (high serum alkaline phosphatase [ALP] activity) in apparently healthy Scottish Terriers.

Design: Prospective case-controlled study.

Animals: 34 apparently healthy adult Scottish Terriers (17 with and 17 without hyperphosphatasemia).

Live Brucella abortus rough vaccine strain RB51 stimulates enhanced innate immune response in vitro compared to rough vaccine strain RB51SOD and virulent smooth strain 2308 in murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells.

Brucella spp. are Gram-negative, coccobacillary, facultative intracellular pathogens. B.

Diagnostic equine serology.

This article is presented with two main goals: (1) to provide equine clinicians with a resource for identifying types of serum tests available and (2) to outline briefly the necessary sample type, assay principle, and relative strengths and weakness of the various methods. Specific etiologies are presented and grouped by clinical diagnosis categories, along with brief comments concerning each disorder and its relevant diagnostic assays. This organization provides an abstracted list of infectious disorders commonly considered for the various clinical presentations and a summary of available serologic tests for narrowing the differential diagnosis list.

Blood proteins and inflammation in the horse.

Activation of the host response to infection, the "acute-phase response," is a highly organized physiologic reaction that includes changes in concentrations of plasma acute-phase proteins (APPs). The APPs are increasingly being used as markers for prognosis and monitoring response to therapy along with general determinants of equine health. Use of APPs in veterinary medicine is becoming more widespread as more commercial diagnostic kits are being validated.

Temporal clinical chemistry and microscopic renal effects following acute uranyl acetate exposure.

Military use of depleted uranium (DU) has renewed interest in the toxicology of this metal. In this study, the nephrotoxicity of single exposure DU was assessed with and without pre-exposure stress. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=288) were administered a single IM dose of 0, 0.

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or diethylstilbestrol (DES) cause similar hematopoietic hypocellularity and hepatocellular changes in murine fetal liver, but differentially affect gene expression.

TCDD and DES have immunotoxic effects, including selective diminution of T lymphocyte progenitors in the fetal liver. The histologic presentation of fetal liver after exposure to either chemical has not been described. Similarly, limited information exists regarding mechanisms by which TCDD or DES may alter fetal hematopoiesis.