Epidemiology and clinical presentation of feline cataracts in france: A retrospective study of 268 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology and the clinical presentation of cataracts in a population of cats in France. PROCEDURES: A review of medical records of cats presented to the Ophthalmology Unit of the National Veterinary School of Alfort between January 2010 and June 2017 was carried out to identify cats affected by cataracts. The signalment of affected cats, medical history, etiology of cataract, age of onset, stage of development, location of opacities, and concurrent ocular lesions were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 2054 cats which were presented to the Ophthalmology Unit of the National Veterinary School of Alfort during the study period, 268 (383 eyes) were diagnosed with a cataract (13%; CI [11.3-14.7]). The median age of all cats affected by cataract was 9.5 years (range: 0.1-18.6 years). Eighteen breeds were represented. The recorded causes of cataract were uveitis (35.8%), congenital (15.7%), aging (10.8%), presumed hereditary (8.2%), trauma (7.8%), lens luxation (3.3%), glaucoma (1.5%) and diabetes mellitus (0.4%). In 16.4% of the cases, the etiology could not be determined. The domestic short-hair was significantly overrepresented in cats with uveitis-related cataract (P < .001). The most common ocular lesions associated with cataracts were lens subluxation or luxation (17.8%), glaucoma (14.9%), and retinal detachment (4.4%). Lens subluxation/luxation and glaucoma were also significantly associated with uveitis-related cataract (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: In a French population of referred cats, 13% were affected by cataract. The main causes identified were anterior uveitis, congenital, and aging. Lens subluxation/luxation and glaucoma were associated with uveitis-related cataract.

Bilateral bullous keratopathy secondary to melting keratitis in a Suri alpaca (Vicugna pacos).

An young alpaca was evaluated for bilateral progressive melting corneal ulcers and developped secondary bullous keratopathy during hospitalization. The tragic progression of melting ulcers in both eyes observed in our case leads us to recommend a rapid intensive medical therapy in young and debilitated alpacas presenting a corneal ulcer.

Epidemiology and clinical presentation of canine cataracts in France: a retrospective study of 404 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the epidemiology and the clinical presentation of cataracts in a population of dogs in France. PROCEDURES: Records of dogs affected by a cataract presented at the Ophthalmology Unit of Alfort Veterinary School during 2009-2012 were reviewed. The etiology was determined for each dog. The signalment of affected dogs, their medical history, age of onset, stage of progression, location of opacities, and ocular lesions associated were evaluated for each etiology. RESULTS: A total of 2739 dogs were presented at the Ophthalmology Unit from 2009 to 2012. Four hundred and four dogs (14.7%) (716 eyes) were diagnosed with a cataract. The population included 218 males (54%) and 185 females (46%). The gender was not recorded for one dog. The mean age (±SD) of all dogs affected by a cataract was 9 years (±3.9 years). Fifty-four breeds were represented. The Yorkshire Terrier was the only breed significantly overrepresented. The causes of cataracts observed were breed predisposition (28%), aging (22.8%), progressive retinal atrophy (12.4%), congenital cataract (5%), diabetes mellitus (4.7%), trauma (3.7%), uveitis (3%), and hypocalcemia (0.2%). In 20.3% of the cases, the etiology could not be determined. Ocular lesions associated with cataracts reported were lens luxation or subluxation (11.1%), glaucoma (3.7%), and retinal detachment (4.2%). CONCLUSIONS: In a French population of referred dogs, 14.7% were affected by a cataract. The main causes identified were breed predisposition, aging, and progressive retinal atrophy. A breed predisposition for the Yorkshire Terrier was recorded.

A reverse genetic approach identifies an ancestral frameshift mutation in RP1 causing recessive progressive retinal degeneration in European cattle breeds.

BACKGROUND: Domestication and artificial selection have resulted in strong genetic drift, relaxation of purifying selection and accumulation of deleterious mutations. As a consequence, bovine breeds experience regular outbreaks of recessive genetic defects which might represent only the tip of the iceberg since their detection depends on the observation of affected animals with distinctive symptoms. Thus, recessive mutations resulting in embryonic mortality or in non-specific symptoms are likely to be missed. The increasing availability of whole-genome sequences has opened new research avenues such as reverse genetics for their investigation. Our aim was to characterize the genetic load of 15 European breeds using data from the 1000 bull genomes consortium and prove that widespread harmful mutations remain to be detected. RESULTS: We listed 2489 putative deleterious variants (in 1923 genes) segregating at a minimal frequency of 5 % in at least one of the breeds studied. Gene enrichment analysis showed major enrichment for genes related to nervous, visual and auditory systems, and moderate enrichment for genes related to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. For verification purposes, we investigated the phenotypic consequences of a frameshift variant in the retinitis pigmentosa-1 gene segregating in several breeds and at a high frequency (27 %) in Normande cattle. As described in certain human patients, clinical and histological examination revealed that this mutation causes progressive degeneration of photoreceptors leading to complete blindness in homozygotes. We established that the deleterious allele was even more frequent in the Normande breed before 1975 (>40 %) and has been progressively counter-selected likely because of its associated negative effect on udder morphology. Finally, using identity-by-descent analysis we demonstrated that this mutation resulted from a unique ancestral event that dates back to ~2800 to 4000 years. CONCLUSIONS: We provide a list of mutations that likely represent a substantial part of the genetic load of domestication in European cattle. We demonstrate that they accumulated non-randomly and that genes related to cognition and sensory functions are particularly affected. Finally, we describe an ancestral deleterious variant segregating in different breeds causing progressive retinal degeneration and irreversible blindness in adult animals.

Keratomycosis in a pet rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) treated with topical 1% terbinafine ointment.

This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and medical management of a 2-year-old spayed female dwarf rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) suffering from an ulcerative keratitis and a stromal abscess with a rapid evolution. The diagnosis of fungal keratitis was based on fungal culture identifying the pathogen as Aspergillus fumigatus. Treatment by topical terbinafine was efficacious in resolving the keratomycosis within 8 weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of spontaneous keratomycosis in a rabbit and the first description of successful therapy by terbinafine.

A case of primary choroidal malignant melanoma in a cat.

This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, histological lesions, and prognosis of a primary choroidal malignant melanoma in a 15-year-old cat. The animal was presented for unilateral blindness. On ocular examination, a raised pigmented mass protruding from the posterior pole into the vitreous body was observed by diffuse transillumination and indirect ophthalmoscopy. Ocular ultrasound and computer tomography (CT) scan confirmed localization of the tumor to the posterior segment. The diagnosis of primary choroidal melanoma was confirmed by histopathology after enucleation. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a feline malignant melanoma with a primary choroidal localization without iris involvement.