Diffuse alveolar injury in two dogs.

Proliferative interstitial pneumonia of undetermined cause was diagnosed in 2 dogs. The clinical signs in both dogs consisted primarily of acute onset, rapid breathing, and raspy lung sounds. Radiography revealed a diffuse increase in pulmonary alveolar density. In both dogs, the primary pathologic process was diffuse alveolar pneumocyte injury, and the pulmonary lesions were similar. Proliferation of type II pneumocytes (some of which were atypical mononucleated, and others multinucleated) was a prominent feature of the interstitial pneumonia. Because of the atypical features of some pneumocytes in such cases, biopsy findings may suggest a neoplastic process. Proliferative interstitial pneumonia should be included in the differential diagnosis of a diffuse pulmonary disease that is poorly responsive to medical treatment.

Spasm of the near reflex associated with organic disease.

Spasm of the near reflex is characterized by transient attacks of convergence, accommodation, and miosis. It is usually observed in young individuals and considered functional. We studied seven patients with spasm of the near reflex who had associated neurologic disorders or head trauma. Two patients had posterior fossa abnormalities (cerebellar tumor, Arnold-Chiari malformation), two patients had pituitary tumors, one patient had a vestibulopathy, and two patients had a history of antecedent head trauma.

Effect of suramin on serum viral replication in feline leukemia virus-infected pet cats.

Suramin treatments were administered (IV) to 2 healthy adult cats infected with naturally acquired feline leukemia virus. Serum viral infectivity--as assessed by focus induction by the method of Fischinger, using serial serum samples titrated on clone 81 cells--ceased transiently in both cats during treatment with suramin, but returned to significantly high levels approximately 14 days after treatment was stopped. Both cats tested positive for FeLV internal antigens in peripheral blood cells and serum before, during, and after treatment. Both cats tested negative for antibody to feline oncornavirus membrane antigen before, during, and after treatment. The major adverse effects of suramin in the 2 cats were transient vomiting and anorexia.

Zinc and ethanol: dietary interrelationships in pregnant rats.

Pregnant rats were fed three different liquid diets with ethanol providing 33.3, 35.6 and 50.8% of the total calories. The 35.6 and 50.8% ethanol diets, containing egg white as a source of protein, were zinc deficient and were fed to two groups of rats without zinc supplementation. At each level of ethanol, one additional group was supplemented with a moderate level of zinc and another group with a high level of zinc. The 33.3% ethanol diet contained casein as a source of protein and had a high level of zinc. Each rat in the ethanol group was yoked with another rat fed a diet in which the ethanol was replaced by an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate. Records were kept of food consumed, weight gained or lost, number of pups delivered, total weight of litter, and weights of each pup. Maternal and neonatal tissues were taken for zinc and copper analyses. The rats fed ethanol diets were found to ingest the same amount of ethanol-derived calories per day regardless of diet or concentration of ethanol. On the higher level of ethanol (50.8%), the rats, therefore, ingested fewer total calories and lost weight. No pups were delivered from this group of dams. Their respective pair-fed groups, although restricted in weight gain, delivered live pups at all levels of zinc. The pups from dams fed zinc-deficient diets had lower total body zinc levels and lower liver zinc levels. Sufficient dietary zinc improved the condition of the pregnant rats and their progeny, but there were no indications that higher levels of dietary zinc resulted in further improvement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Development and learning in the offspring of rats fed an alcohol diet on a short- or long-term basis.

The offspring of rats fed a diet containing 12.5% (v/v) ethanol prior to, and during, gestation (LTE) were compared to the offspring of rats fed the same diet during gestation only (STE) in three studies. In Study I the neonates were tested on a variety of neuroreflex tasks, in Study II the offspring were tested in an activity wheel and open field, and in Study III the offspring were trained in a runway under partial or consistent reward conditions. Results indicated that STE offspring were delayed in developing fur and in opening their eyes, they righted more rapidly, and were slower in developing a reaction to and habituating to an auditory stimulus than their controls (STC) and the LTE offspring. Generally, movement was greater for ethanol exposed offspring and the LTE offspring showed more persistent fear-related responses than the STE offspring. No statistically reliable differences in learning or extinction were found among the groups, although a trend towards better learning and less resistance to extinction was noted in the LTE animals. Long-term alcohol use seems to attenuate the effects of gestational alcohol in rats.

Effects of gestational alcohol on the development of neonatal reflexes in the rat.

The offspring of rats fed a diet containing 10% (v/v) of ethanol were tested for developmental differences from controls on a variety of maturational events and reflexes. Results indicated slower development of fur onset and ear (pinnae) opening, more rapid and vigorous righting responses and shorter dowel-grasping times in the offspring of ethanol-fed dams. No differences in rooting reflex, Babinski reflex, or in the visual placing response were found. These findings were seen as consistent with the interpretation that gestational alcohol exposure results in reduction in the ability of subjects to inhibit responses. The reduction in inhibition is not inconsistent with damage to the hippocampal area of the brain.

Position discrimination in the salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum.

Twenty larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) were collected from a playa lake in West Texas and maintained in the laboratory for 7 days prior to the beginning of position training. Ten subjects in the larval state were trained on a position problem in a T-maze for 5 trials per day to a criterion of 80% correct responses, using a self-correction procedure. Following metamorphosis to the adult stage, these subjects were tested for retention. The remaining 10 subjects were allowed to metamorphose prior to training on the position problem. The results indicate reliably faster learning in the adult (terrestrial) subjects, and reliable retention of the response following metamorphosis. These results, taken in conjunction with informal observation of the behavior of the subjects in the experimental environment, suggest that the performance of the adult subjects was a result of their better perceptual apparatus.