Acinar dysplasia: a rare cause of neonatal respiratory failure.

UNLABELLED: Acinar dysplasia is a rare cause of death in the first few hours of life, due to an absence of alveoli. This report presents the first case associated with additional major renal malformations. The diagnosis of acinar dysplasia was unexpectedly made at autopsy. CONCLUSION: Even in the presence of antenatally diagnosed severe anomalies, autopsy may reveal diagnostically important information.

Isolation and molecular characterisation of Neospora caninum in cattle in New Zealand.

AIM: To isolate Neospora caninum from the brains of naturally infected cattle and use molecular techniques to characterise the isolates. METHODS: Neospora caninum tachyzoites were isolated in Vero cell culture from the brains of a cow and two calves. The isolates were characterised using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, DNA sequencing, an immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The brains of the three cattle were subjected to histopathological examination. A pathogenicity study was conducted in 120 BALB/c mice. RESULTS: Neospora caninum tachyzoites were isolated from all three cases and first observed in vitro between 14 and 17 days post-inoculation. Parasites were sub-cultured and maintained in Vero cell culture for more than 6 months. PCR products were generated for all three isolates, using two different primers. Sequencing of the PCR products and a subsequent BLAST search identified the isolates as N. caninum. In addition, the isolates tested positive using IFAT and IHC, and ultrastructure revealed by TEM was characteristic of N. caninum. Histopathological examination revealed lesions characteristic of N. caninum in 1/3 brains. In the pathogenicity study using BALB/c mice, the mortality rate was 3-7%. CONCLUSION: This was the first successful isolation of N. caninum in New Zealand confirmed using molecular characterisation tests.

Idiopathic calcinosis of scrotum.

A forty-three-year-old man complained of painless, firm scrotal nodules which had first appeared at age sixteen. These were diagnosed clinically as multiple epidermoid inclusion cysts and were excised. Histologically they were composed of calcified, amorphous, granular material, characteristic of idiopathic calcinosis of the scrotum. This is a rare, benign condition without any recognized underlying metabolic abnormalities. The cause of idiopathic calcinosis of the scrotum is unknown, but we believe it is due to dystrophic calcification of dartoic muscles.