Are postnatal traumatic events an underestimated cause of porencephalic lesions in dogs and cats?

Introduction: Porencephaly is defined as a fluid-filled cavity of variable size in the brain cortex. It is regarded as a congenital condition and is typically considered a developmental or an encephaloclastic defect. Our hypothesis is that postnatal traumatic events in the first few months of life may represent a cause of canine and feline porencephaly that is more common than generally suspected.

Prevalence, MRI findings, and clinical features of lumbosacral intervertebral disc protrusion in French Bulldogs diagnosed with acute thoracic or lumbar intervertebral disc extrusion.

Introduction: Intervertebral disc protrusion (IVDP) is a neurological disorder commonly observed at the lumbosacral junction of old, medium-to-large breeds, non-chondrodystrophic dogs. Although uncommon, lumbosacral IVDP can also be seen in chondrodystrophic dogs, among them French Bulldogs (FBs) and could be associated with congenital vertebral malformations in this breed. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence, clinical features, and MRI characteristics of lumbosacral IVDP and congenital vertebral malformations in FBs diagnosed with thoracic or lumbar intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE) and to evaluate the possible interference of the neurologic deficits related to chronic IVDP on neurological examination.

Sister chromatid exchange and micronucleus frequency in human lymphocytes of 1,650 subjects in an Italian population: II. Contribution of sex, age, and lifestyle.

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclei (MN) analysis was carried out on 1,650 healthy individuals living in Pisa and in two nearby small cities, Cascina and Navacchio (Ca-Na). The effect of smoking on SCEs was linearly correlated with the number of cigarettes per day, and an increase of 7.3% SCEs was detectable for as few cigarettes as 1-10/day.

Evaluation of DNA damage in leukocytes of ex-smokers by single cell gel electrophoresis.

Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), or comet assay, appears to be a promising tool to estimate DNA damage at the single cell level and it provides information on the presence of damage among individual cells. A follow-up study of 90 smokers who ceased smoking was undertaken to determine the possible decrease of DNA damage in their leukocytes. Before beginning the trial, volunteers smoked on average 26.